Deliverance Disorder Descent
by Tedd.E.Bare
Summary: It's 1989, an election year; Lily and James are agents working for Phoenix, the secret security organisation that ensures members of parliament are kept safe from terrorist threats during times of crisis, in both war and peace. When a former foe returns for a new round, they're sent in undercover to reveal what their enemy is planning. Will they survive the mad man? All-Muggle AU.
1. Going In

**Deliverance. Disorder. Descent.**

Author note – this fic was begun in the middle of my mid-year/end of semester exam period... when I should have been studying for my Advanced SOSE/Inclusive practises in education exams. Alas, my brain cannot be stopped so this appeared. It's inspired by the US TV shows 'The Americans', 'NCIS: Los Angeles (mostly episode 3x22 "Neighbourhood Watch") and a couple other FanFiction stories I've read of late. I've done some basic research into muggle politics, Margaret Thatcher was indeed Britain's PM during this year, and a politician named Airey Neave (who is mentioned in this chapter) was indeed assassinated in 1979. Other than that, any recognised characters are not my property.

_For Sasha._

* * *

**January 8****th****, 1987 – 10 Downing Street, London**

As an election year, it was the responsibility of the government to ensure that all members of parliament running for top office were given the best security in the world.

It was also the responsibility of the current leader's special ops team to ensure that all members of parliament stayed alive until the election.

Albus Dumbledore was the head of security for the Prime Minister's office. His team uncovered an untold amount of plots and conspiracies against the British empire over the past 30 years. To most, he is a legend, a name told to recently initiated gang members, or the threat screamed by the cops to their unwilling suspect.

To a select few however, he's simply their boss.

Team Phoenix was a large elite group of agents tasked with infiltrating anti-government groups and monitoring suspicious activity. Usually sent on missions in pairs, they were responsible for preventing a lot of terrorist events both from individuals as well as groups.

0-0-0

Dumbledore strode into the Prime Minister's office, Marge Thatcher hung up the phone she was talking into and stared directly at her head of security.

'What's the latest?' she asked him.

'Chatter suggests there's a group planning an attack on the houses of parliament, no dates, but the group implicated is one that's never appeared on our radar before. Scuttlebutt however puts Tom Riddle as the group's leader.' Dumbledore replied gravely.

'Shit. What happened to him being in Romania or Bulgaria hunting treasure?'

'Either our Intel has been misinformed, or he's back in secret.'

'If he's really behind the planning for this, then we need to figure out who they are and when they're planning on doing it. I remember all too well the last time Riddle tried to cleanse our government.'

'As do I Marge, I've brought in my best agents from their assignments for this; their briefing is in twenty minutes if you wished to attend.'

'Oh, I'm there.'

0-0-0

James hates it when he gets stuck doing paired missions with her. It's not that he doesn't like Lily, that's not the issue at all; it's the fact that she's a tiny, feisty red-head that he wants to live without bearing witness to the horrors of their job.

Special agents, tasked with successfully infiltrating suspect groups, assessing gang activity and exposed to all sorts of unsavoury things is not something for the meek or feeble hearted. He knows she's tough though, he's been paired with her often enough to know that underneath that skinny, pale-skinned ginger is an unstoppable force of nature, especially when armed.

When Dumbledore announced that he and Lily Evans were to be paired up for this operation, James thought straight away that it wasn't going to be fun. He's hit on her enough times to know that she's not his biggest fan, and although he trusts her with his life, he's not entirely sure how this assignment is going to pan out.

Being paired with an agent of the opposite gender sometimes necessitates pretending to be in a relationship. Although James sort of relished the idea of pretending to be with her, he didn't want to experience it for a short time, and never have the chance to genuinely have something with her.

Not that he'd ever admit that.

0-0-0

Special Agent Lily Marie Evans was, at twenty-six years of age, the youngest female operative in the United Kingdom. She was also one of only five female agents with a level one clearance. There were only two such agents in total who were under thirty, and the other one was the tosspot whom she was paired with.

It wasn't that James Potter was a bad person; he was just an egotistical, insufferable git.

After they were briefed, with the Prime Minister herself in attendance, Lily retreated to the gun room and proceeded to pretend the target she was firing at was both Tom Riddle and her annoying partner. All her shots fell in the nines and tens, excluding those two headshots, but they were deliberate.

She could sense when he came into the gun room behind her, but she squared her shoulders and kept firing at the silhouettes.

'Albus has requested that we meet with him in ten minutes so he can brief us on further details.' He murmured once she had whipped off her earmuffs.

Sighing, she ripped off her silhouette sheet and prepped the hanger for the next person.

'His office?' she asked.

'Yeah.'

'D-do you know how deep under we have to go?' she stammered, not facing him still.

'If it's really Tom Riddle heading this thing, we're going to have to go as far under as we can get. I overheard Frank and Alice talking about him; apparently he's the son of the guy who pulled all the strings to start the Cold war thirty odd years ago. Tom Riddle Senior apparently died six years ago, rumoured to have been offed by his son who wanted to run the criminal empire. He was last seen in Eastern Europe about two years ago, but it looks like he's decided that Election year was his year to make a reappearance in his home country.' James explained.

'What are our chances of surviving this?'

'I'm not gonna let you die Evans.'

'What about you?'

'I'm gonna hope for the best that you're not gonna let me die, oh dearest Ginger Ninja.' His response brought a smile to her face as she spun to face him.

'Don't call me that unless you want to die before we even get out onto the field.'

'Noted.'

0-0-0

Albus Dumbledore peered at his two most junior agents over the top of his glasses as they entered his office. He noticed that James, as always, let Lily walk in first; partially in a fit of gallantry, part so he could watch her figure as she walked by him.

He knew he was sending them on the most dangerous mission they would probably ever face, and he wasn't entirely convinced they would survive it.

Having faced the Riddle family before, and bearing witness to the complete and utter destruction they wreaked, Albus knew that if the rumours were true, and Tom Riddle Junior was heading this operation, the difficulty stopping this attack was on par with the horrors the world would witness if they failed.

'I've come to a conclusion about your undercover identities whilst on this case,' he began, 'I don't doubt your communicative skills, but we simply cannot risk the chance of you not responding to your assumed names, so in essence, you will be going under with your real names. Because Riddle has the most advanced computer systems at his disposal, you'll be given new last names, but your first names will stay the same so you won't have to memorise new ones.'

'Who are we going under as?' James asked.

'No one in their right minds would believe you two are married, you two argue too much, but you'll be going under as friends. Lily, your cover is a graduate student who majored in journalism and is working as a writer for a controversial, run-of-the-mill political magazine called "The People" that of late has developed quite the anti-government stance. James, you'll be going in as the owner of a small hidey-hole cafe, less than a block away from the magazine press. Back story is that you two met whilst waiting in line for roasted chestnuts that you can buy from the guy who sells them freshly cooked on the corner of the block three blocks down from you. You bonded, had coffee, and became best mates after realising you both didn't agree with how our country is run.'

'What are our chances of coming out this?' Lily whispered.

Dumbledore sighed heavily, looking away from them both.

'The last time we dealt with the Riddles,' he began, 'we sent in all our agents. My best ones got into the inner circle under the guise of planning a militant takeover of the UK , Marlene McKinnon, Peter Pettigrew, Caradoc Dearborn, Alastor Moody, Alison Rogers and Gordon Prewett all got in deep, and we were getting the best Intel. Somehow the Riddles found out who they really were and had them all executed. We received videos of their executions, as well as the location of where their bodies had been dumped.'

Lily and James stared at him in horror.

'I say this because I don't want to lose either or you. Tom Riddle junior is a ruthless man, and the success of this operation rides almost solely on your shoulders. You are the only two agents I've got that haven't worked on any Riddle cases, you're the two youngest, and I've not yet digitalised your histories. The only proof you exist as a functioning member of society is your driver's license, the rest of it is locked here in my desk. I can't risk sending anyone else; I'm hoping that your youth allows Riddle to be blind to your real identities. As for your survival rates, as long as you don't break cover at any point in time, you should be okay.'

Both agents nodded in understanding.

'I'm sending you both down to our clothing department now; I have a few final arrangements to make in regards to your general living circumstances and employment. As of tomorrow you'll be out on the field, officially as Lily Martin and James Harris,' he handed them both thin manila folders, 'these contain some personal cover information for you both to memorise this evening. I'll see you both in a few hours.'

Nodding once more, they left their boss to his work.

0-0-0

'Why'd you ask the big question?' James whispered to her as they entered the elevator.

Lily turned to him,

'Frank and Alice are virtually the only original agents here; all the others are transfers from army, navy, special ops forces, and other private intelligence agencies. Where are all the other agents who were drafted specifically into our team? I graduated and came straight here, and I'm pretty sure the same goes for you; everyone I've ever been teamed with has had previous employment elsewhere, except for Frank, Alice, Molly, Arthur and Fabian. Where are the others? This security team is supposed to be in charge of protecting the entire government, there's supposed to be a lot of us. If they're not here then they've been killed in action, reassigned or retired. The first one's the most likely and the only huge case our specific security team has been involved in over the past twenty to thirty years is that of the Riddle criminal empire and the INLA attack when they killed that politician Neave ten years back. What happened in the Riddle case that killed so many of our fellow agents?'

'So you decided to screw beating around the bush and ask our boss?'

'Yup.'

'Nice.'


	2. Going Under

**Deliverance. Disorder. Descent.**

Author note – my thanks for reading on, I've been mulling about making the next chapter to this one for a few days, uncertain of where I was heading, but not I think I've got a pretty good idea of where I'm heading with this AU Jily story :) progress will be slow (warning you now) as although i'm on a semester break I've got a lot of things to do and then i'm straight back into uni, and then a 6 week straight prac placement.

Also, this chapter is fairly short, primarily because the next chapter begins after a slight jump of time and i didn't want to put it into this one. please Read & Review

_For the best friend of them all.  
_

* * *

Later that evening, once they were both safely ensconced into their separate apartments, less than three blocks from their respective workplaces, James called Lily on her new home phone, asking her out for a late night drink.

'Are you seriously starting this up again James?'

'I'm not asking you out on a date, I'm asking my _friend_ Lily Martin to join me out for a late-night beer at Carter's which is closer to your place, because I work tomorrow, and you work tomorrow, and I miss your face.'

She sighed; relenting to his plea, knowing it would allow them to talk further about their covers without the possibility of them being monitored in their apartments.

'Fine, Carter's. Ten minutes.'

0-0-0

'Two beers thanks,' James ordered as Lily went to find them a table. Looking around them, it appeared to be a fairly quiet night, with only a few other patrons in the bar aside from them. Even if something were to happen in the bar, both he and Lily were armed and well trained.

Luckily, Lily had chosen a secluded booth in one of the corners, well away from everyone else, and were they not agents on a highly important mission, he would almost considered it a romantic setting.

Unluckily for him, they were agents on an important mission, and it wasn't a romantic setting, no matter his personal feeling for his current partner.

She smiled at him as he handed her the bottle of beer, her face half in shadow. James sat opposite her and they clinked their glasses before taking a sip each. They sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying their drinks and the view around them.

Lily broke the silence first, 'What's your place like?'

'It's a basic, small two bedroom, one bathroom flat, small kitchen and living area. What about yours?'

'Same, second bedroom's more of a study though, there's a pull-out couch instead of a bed, huge wall of books in there too.'

'Just the way a top-notch controversial journalist like you likes it,' He said, winking at her. She smirked in reply and took another gulp.

'So Miss Martin, I think we need to get our stories straight, just so we don't get caught out later on.' He told her, his voiced lowered to a murmur.

'I agree,' she replied, putting her drink down in front of her and cleared her throat, 'I work as a journalist at The People magazine which is a weekly publication, I'm twenty-six years old, single, no living family. My father was in the navy, killed in action during the Falkland's War of '82 and my mum passed away soon after from the grief, no siblings. You?'

'I'm a twenty-six year old college grad who runs the Larder Cafe down the road from where you work, I too am an only child, and my parents were killed in a car crash when I was seventeen, I don't like how Thatcher has run our country and my favourite colour is dark green.' He said.

'Wow, heavy explanation there, do you want to start with explaining the Thatcher part or the "my favourite colour is green" bit?' she asked, smiling.

'My favourite colour is green because my favourite chocolate flavour is chocolate chip mint ice-cream, the colour of my first car and because it's the colour of your eyes.'

She gaped at him disbelievingly, mouth hanging open as she stared at him.

'I-I think you should have picked Thatcher,' She whispered eventually. 'That's a topic less likely to make me want to reach over this table-'

'-and do all sorts of sexual things to me?' James interjected.

'and tear you a new one with your beer bottle.' She finished, glaring at him 'Had I known you were going to turn this meeting into one of your "Hey Lily, we should bang" moments I wouldn't have bothered.'

'Oh c'mon, you know I'm only messing with you.' He explained, inching away his beer bottle away from her clenched hands.

'Doesn't matter, now we're officially under, you can't pull your stunts anymore James. We have to have a completely different relationship, purely friendship based; we go out for lunch, dinner, coffee, movie nights. We hug, I pop by your cafe when I get a lunch break, you come by the press when I'm working late on an article. We make each other dinner, sleep on the spare beds, defend each other when we get close to this group, and most importantly – we get out of this alive.'

James put his hands over her tightly clenched ones and rubbed his thumb over her wrist.

"We'll be fine Lils, Albus has given us good covers, we're both excellent agents and we can pull it off.'

'Don't die on me.' She whispered.

'I wouldn't dream of it.' He whispered back.

0-0-0

* * *

**Next Time:**

_'I forgot about last time,' he shuddered exaggeratingly, 'you ate more burgers than I did.'_

_She laughed, 'how could you forget about _that?_ You couldn't look at me without that half-impressed, half-disgusted look on your face for weeks!'_

_'You ate six burgers, two large fries and a large sprite without barfing, yet you walked out of the restaurant without so much as indigestion!'_


	3. Going For It

**Deliverance. Disorder. Descent.**

Author note – There is a time jump here, and YES it is purposeful and will be explored/explained in later chapters. please Read & Review :)

_For the Lily to my Grace._

* * *

**February 13th, 1987**

Tonight signalled another meeting with the DE, Lily started to pack away her notes and checked her watch. James was due to drop by after he closed at 4.30pm and wait for her to finish and go to the meeting together. With it already 4.40 pm, she had twenty minutes left to work, and she was already getting slightly worried about James being late.

Suddenly her vision went black as a pair of hands wrapped around her head. She stiffened, doing her best to repress her training instincts.

'Guess who?' the voice hissed into her ear.

"James, that's not funny!' she hissed back as she batted his hands away. 'You're late as well.' She remarked as she turned back to her papers.

'Oh, please, I had a customer that came in last minute and wanted a hot chocolate for his five year old daughter. I couldn't say no' he explained as he took a seat next to her.

'Fair enough,' she cleared her throat and looked at him, 'I got a phone call today from an old friend, he lives out of London, he wants to catch up with me next week, I told him that I had a friend that ran an excellent little cafe near me, if he wants to do lunch there. You could meet him if you like.'

'What's the name of this friend?' he asked

'Francis, he prefers Frank though.' She replied, giving him a look.

'Will I be required to have words with this Mister Francis?'

'He's married, and I went to high school with his wife Alice.'

'Oh, well in that case...' he nudged her, 'that reminds me, what are we doing tomorrow?'

'Tomorrow?'

'The day of Saint Valentine?' James elaborated, 'the ridiculously commercialised day of overpriced red roses and boxes of chocolates. The day in which all single ladies apparently indulge in gallons of ice cream and the single gents of the world prowl through bars in a desperate search for someone equally as desperate.'

Lily snickered before replying, 'Well according to your detailed analysis, I'll probably just be sitting on my couch consuming my body weight in ice-cream and chocolate. What about you, oh single best friend of mine?'

'Well, I don't particularly fancy prowling bars and pubs, and if I can drag you away from your tubs of ice-cream, I was going to take you out to dinner... as friends.'

'Where were you thinking of going?'

'Well, considering we're not dating, I'm not obligated to take you anywhere fancy. What about McDonalds?'

'McDonalds sounds great, I like that you've forgotten our last venture to that joint.' She said, biting her tongue as she hid a smile

"I forgot about last time,' he shuddered exaggeratingly, 'you ate more burgers than I did.'

She laughed, 'how could you forget about _that_? You couldn't look at me without that half-impressed, half-disgusted look on your face for weeks!'

'You ate six burgers, two large fries and a large sprite without barfing, yet you walked out of the restaurant without so much as indigestion!'

'You still remember what I ate?' she exclaimed

'That entire evening is going to be burned into my memory for the rest of my life.' He said solemnly.

Lily stood, picked up her jacket and swinging it around her shoulders. 'Tell you what, you can take me out tomorrow for tea, anywhere but McDonalds. Right now, however, you can walk with me to that meeting we have to go to.'

'Ah, to the ends of the earth I would follow thee, but first, other matters appear more pressing.'

'Did you just try to paraphrase Shakespeare?'

'I may have done.'

'You failed.'

0-0-0

Later, in a dark alley in a shady part of town, a group of thirty men and women entered a brightly lit room, and sat around an antique, well polished, wooden oval table.

'My esteemed colleagues,' began the tall, dark-haired man at the head of the table. 'The time has come for you all to be informed of our true purpose here tonight.'

A collective hush encompassed the room, everyone hung on his every word.

Lily peeked at James from the corner of her eye, growing ever-nervous. In response his hand reached out for hers and grasped it tightly.

'Colleagues, it may come as a surprise to a few of you, but our true purpose in coming together, is to create a world of change.' The tall man boomed, 'For too long, we civilians have suffered under the cruel reign of dim-witted and ineffective politicians who are only interested in how heavily they line their own pockets.'

There was a murmur of agreement about the table, as well as several nods.

'With my experience of the way our government is run, it is unfailingly clear that the plan I have concocted for a new British government cannot be left to waste. Our country claims a democracy, but it is not so! Instead it is filled with aristocratic, inbred bigots who run our people as they see fit. It is time for change, and an election year such as this year makes it ripe for the changes I want to see in our once great nation! You all know me,' he said, calming down after his passionate tirade, 'I'm Tom Riddle; I'm a British man, born and bred. It pains me to see our great society reduced to crumbs and dust. Where the truth you hear depends on your security clearance, the position you hold and the influence you have over others. Tonight's meeting is for all of us to ensure we are all working on the same page.' He pulled folders out of a satchel at his feet, 'My peers, these plans must not yet be shown to the wider world, they do include some unsavoury acts of justice, but I am confident you all have the maturity of mind to handle the content within.'

Tom Riddle junior handed out the folders to all the members gathered around the table. When he got to where Lily and James were seated, he hesitated ever so slightly as he put the folder down in front of them, but quickly moved onto the next person. Lily swallowed ever so slightly, and James let out a silent breath he hadn't noticed he was holding.

0-0-0

Tom Riddle's plan was ridiculously detailed, down from people who would be required to die in order for the plan to take full effect to who would be instated in government positions. It came as no surprise to either Lily or James that Tom Riddle had placed himself as the head of the government, but it also scared them as to the level of thought he'd put into it.

Under the guise of reading through the folio, they set to memorising as many details as they could, so they could report to Frank when he checked in with them the next week.

It was a twelve page document, and took some time to peruse fully.

0-0-0

After the meeting was concluded, Tom Riddle asked for Lily and James to stay behind for a few moments and they shared a concerned look.

They stood close together as they nodded their farewells to other group members, nervous as to what would unfold when they were left alone with the maniac they were secretly trying to bring down.

As soon as the door clicked quietly closed, Tom smirked at the two of them, unblinking and immobile, perched with his hip on the table.

'I had a feeling over the past couple of meetings that there was something not quite right about your friendship.' Tom began.

'W-whatever do you mean?' asked Lily.

'You two aren't just friends. I saw that little subtle hand-holding thing you had going on under the table.' Tom's smirk widened as Lily and James exchanged alarmed looks.

'It's kind of new; we're still sort of trying to figure out what we both want.' James explained, relieved that Riddle hadn't found out their real identities, and had mistaken the handholding as something more than it was.

'Well James, let's hope you made romantic plans for tomorrow to sweep Lily off her feet.' Tom said, winking at Lily.

Lily blushed and looked away.

'Well, I'll let you two lovebirds head home, I'll see you on Saturday for the next meeting.'

'Goodnight Tom, see you then.' James said to him, and held out his hand to Lily, who took it with a smile.

0-0-0

'That was too close.' She muttered to him once they were outside.

'Hell yes it was.' He replied, 'At least he bought the couple theory.'

'Our apartments have been bugged with video and audio by Riddle and his goons; if we're going to pull off this "new couple" then we're going to have to pull some theatrics at whichever apartment we head to tomorrow night.'

'Why Lily Martin, what are your intentions for tomorrow evening.'

'You're taking me to dinner remember?'

'I know that, what about after dinner?'

'We'll see.'

* * *

**next time:**

_'So did you enjoy your first Valentines gift of the day?'_


	4. Going Out

**Deliverance. Disorder. Descent.**

Author note – Date night! If any guys are reading this - this is how you woo me: eat garlic pizza with me and rock up at my doorstep at 5am with the intent to make me a hot chocolate for breakfast. Please Read & Review! :)

_for the Berry to my Straw, Rasp, Black, and Logan.  
_

* * *

The next morning, at some un-Godly sunless hour, Lily awoke to a persistent knocking coming from the door to her apartment.

Groaning, she buried her head under her pillow and tried to block out the noise. When her efforts to block the knocking failed, she wriggled out of the covers and stumbled to the door, wrenching it open and coming face to face with James, who was looking infinitely more awake than her.

'What the hell, James? It's like 5am.' She growled at him.

'Happy Valentine's Day,' he said, smouldering at her, 'I got something for you.'

She raised her eyebrows at him without talking and leant on the doorframe whilst she waited for him to continue. He gave her a look to let her know to go along with it and reached for her waist. He pulled her towards him and dipped her before kissing her.

Lily melted into the kiss, returning it with the same fervour as James. Wrapping her arms around his neck she pulled herself closer and let the kiss deepen. She could tell that James was restraining himself from taking it further, and she took note of the fact that neither of his hands strayed from where they were situated, holding her up. He also didn't let his tongue invade her mouth like her last boyfriend did the first time he kissed her. She couldn't deny that the way his mouth moved against hers dissipated any thoughts of sleep.

James pulled her back standing but didn't stop kissing her; instead he moved his hands to the sides of her face and continued moving his lips against hers.

They were both panting, out of breath when they broke the kiss some time later. Staying close enough that their noses touched, James nudged his nose against hers and grinned.

'So did you enjoy your first Valentines gift of the day?'

'I might have, that stubble of yours was a bit of a wake-up though.'

James responded to that by rubbing his cheek into hers, laughing as he did so.

Lily shoved him off her, and turned towards the kitchen, flicking on the kettle and pulling them both out a mug.

'Coffee, tea or hot chocolate?' she asked him.

'I'll have whatever you have.'

'Hot chocolate it is.'

'Make it strong.'

'Always.'

0-0-0

Later, as James walked with Lily to her work, they quietly discussed how successful they thought they were in getting Riddle's goons to believe they were a legitimate couple.

James wasn't admitting to Lily that that was one of the best kisses he'd ever had, but he was completely confident that Riddle would be sold on their cover, because he certainly was.

Surreptitiously looking at her from the corner of his eye, he noticed that she kept biting her bottom lip. He took hold of her hand and grasped it tightly, murmuring that he wasn't sure if they were being followed by anyone or not.

Truth was, he wouldn't ever tell her that the past month of working with her had strengthened his feelings for her, but at least he had the opportunity to be close to her; mandated physical contact notwithstanding.

He also felt something was off about the meeting last night, he was fairly confident that their covers were intact, but the way Riddle willingly outlined his entire plan sent off a warning alarm in his head. He couldn't figure out the man's motives, and it didn't make sense to unload the plan to a roomful of people that Riddle may not necessarily trust.

0-0-0

The afternoon wore on slowly as Lily watched the clock tick down to five pm, when she got to go home and get ready for dinner. James had said he'd picked a casual, but nice restaurant for them to have dinner at, and although that narrowed down wardrobe options somewhat, she still had to pick what to wear, how she would do her hair and all the other things she was required to think about before a date.

_Three hours to go._

_Two hours, fifteen minutes and twenty eight seconds to go._

_Two hours, fifteen minutes and six seconds to go._

_Two hours, fourteen minutes._

_Two hours._

_One hour._

_Five minutes._

_Zero minutes._

_Home._

James wasn't due to pick to her up until quarter to seven, but she'd been standing in front of her wardrobe with a dumbfounded look for over twenty minutes already. _What to wear?_ She kept asking herself; top and skirt, top and pants, jumpsuit, dress, tunic with leggings, boots, heels, flats, hair up, hair down, lots of make-up, little make-up, no make-up. There were simply too many options and not enough time to think it through, or a close girlfriend to call over.

Closing her eyes, she reached into the wardrobe and pulled out whatever her hands touched first.

Dress it was.

0-0-0

Stepping out of his apartment, James squared his shoulders and prepared to make the short walk to Lily's place. It felt so unusual to be taking her out on a date, despite the fact that it merely strengthened their cover.

No small part of the nervousness he was feeling came from the fact that he _did_ like her, and was quite aware that the way this evening panned out would definitely influence her behaviour towards him when they returned to their regular roles in government security.

He just hoped he didn't screw it up.

Bypassing the pop-up flower shops, the harried men rushing past him to get to the store to buy last minute presents for their loved ones and the ever-growing crowd of people heading home from work, James walked steadily and purposefully to Lily's apartment.

Despite the fact he'd previously walked into a highly volatile hostage situation as a negotiator when a handful of politicians were among civilians held hostage at a bank robbery, as well as that one time where he'd been sent to retrieve a former cabinet minister from an area that had been in lockdown due to a gas pipeline leak that had occurred very close to series of bonfires that had been celebrating Guy Fawkes day early; walking to the house to pick up his date, his partner, was more terrifying than both those instances put together. As he thought about it, the nervousness he was feeling was unwarranted – both those times Dumbledore sent him in alone without backup or contact and had warned him beforehand that if events turned sour, his rate of surviving the mission was not in his favour.

To calm the ever-rising nerves, James counted the forty-four steps it took to get to her third storey apartment, and took exactly three deep breaths before knocking on her door.

In the few moments it took for her to open the door, James felt as though his heart stopped, and then restarted again as the door cracked open. She peeked at him through her lashes, and widened the door to let him in.

'I'm almost ready; I just have to finish my hair.' She told him as she turned back to the bathroom.

'All good, I am a little early; we're not due at the restaurant till about quarter past seven.' He replied, sitting down at the kitchen counter.

'So where are you taking me?' she called out to him.

'A nice little Italian place about four blocks from here, customer the other week told me they do a decent pizza.'

'Oh, I do love pizza,' she called out teasingly, 'all that melted cheese and garlic; you won't be wanting to come anywhere near my mouth after I've had all that garlic!'

'Well I'll be eating all that garlic too, so we'll both have garlicky breath and there'll be no excuses about bad breath to stop you from snogging me.'

'Who says I'll want to go anywhere near your lips after you've consumed garlic?'

'Who says you won't?'

'We'll just have to go eat and find out, shan't we?' she said as she walked out of the bathroom, hair and make-up done and looking utterly gorgeous in his opinion. 'How do I look?' she asked as she twirled.

'Breathtaking.'

0-0-0

Dinner consisted of garlic pizza, wine and a constant, non-awkward conversation between the two. James and Lily decided to grab some roasted chestnuts from the cart where their cover identities claimed they had met. They shared a large bag as they took a shortcut back to James' apartment through a small walking park. Enjoying the meaty flavour of the chestnuts, they quietly talked about their game plan for when they reached James' apartment, and how they would act in order to strengthen their covers without crossing a point to where either one of them was uncomfortable with their actions.

Any form of sex was definitely out, as was getting naked, or showering with each other. After spending a few minutes hashing over each other's no-go actions, they both felt as though they had a pretty good idea on just what they would do.

0-0-0-0

* * *

**Next time:**

_He wanted to stop what they were doing and ask her, to be granted the smallest of glimpses into the puzzling mind of his red-headed partner. To do so however, could be a fatal mistake for them both._


	5. Going To Know You Better

**Deliverance. Disorder. Descent.**

Author note – I heard you call for longer chapters, I'm trying to answer the call. Chapter 6 will be up in the next 24 hours as per my agreement with the author of Being Lionhearted (brilliant Jily story, go find it, read it and love it.).

_for the James to my Sirius.  
_

* * *

Crashing his lips onto hers as he opened the door, they somehow made it inside and to the living room. James undid the buttons of her coat and she dropped her arms behind herself as he peeled it off. Once free from her coat, she did the same to him. He only letting go of her one arm at a time, always returning the free arm back to her waist.

As they discussed before, they needed to keep their cover as two good friends, although they hadn't met with any other Phoenix members since they last checked in a week before, always under the guise of old friends; they were sure deviating off the script just a little couldn't be too detrimental to the mission.

Lily might have put it all down to character progression, but to James, a little improvisation gave him a chance to experience what a normal life might be like, one with Lily.

As they continued to move about the entranceway, entirely wrapped around each other, he contemplated just how much of what they were doing right at that moment was merely keeping their covers intact.

He wasn't going to lie to himself, he _liked_ kissing Lily. He knew he was attracted to her physically, but her quick wit and intelligence charmed him even more. Every time he'd been partnered with her previously, he always took the opportunity to ask her out on a date and every time she'd turned him down. Except for this case; their covers assigned to them by Dumbledore stated that they were best friends, but Lily deviated against the original story and allowed their cover personalities to develop.

He wanted to stop what they were doing and ask her, to be granted the smallest of glimpses into the puzzling mind of his red-headed partner. To do so however, could be a fatal mistake for them both. At their first Phoenix member meeting after being invited to a DE recruiting evening by Tom Riddle junior himself, Arthur Wesley, their contact informed them that their apartments had been bugged with not only audio recording and transmitting equipment, but the latest in visual technology too. It meant that their apartments weren't safe anymore.

A tiny bug that transmitted both video and sound was aimed at the entranceway to James' apartment; hence their passionate embrace in the doorway.

Breaking apart and panting heavily, they managed to stumble to the living room and collapsed on the couch. They looked at each other, and started laughing.

'Best date ever.' Lily whispered to him, loudly enough to be caught by the micro bug concealed under the coffee table.

James wrapped his arm further around her, tucking her more firmly into his side. 'I'm glad, he murmured back. 'Since we didn't stop for ice-cream on our way back, want some?'

'Depends on what flavour it is.'

'Mint chocolate chip, of course,' he said as he extricated himself from her and opened the freezer, 'there's also a tub of vanilla in here somewhere that I use in milkshakes if you don't want to share my favourite ice-cream flavour with me.'

'Mint choc chip sounds great, are we eating it out of bowls?' she called out to him.

'Bowls? What kind of fresh hell are you trying to create?' he asked her jokingly, 'using bowls means washing up, I do enough of that at work, I don't need it here too!'

Lily wrinkled her nose at him, 'At least tell me we aren't sharing a spoon? That's just gross.'

'Separate spoons coming right up, I do agree on that though, couples that eat off the same cutlery always gross me out at the cafe, eating off the same plate is bearable, but the same fork or spoon? Eugh.' He shuddered as he handed Lily her spoon and wriggled back next to her on the sofa.

They dug into the half-full container of ice-cream and ate in silence. James felt uncomfortable with his shoulder bumping into her, so he lifted his arm over her and let it rest on her other arm. In response she leant into his side further and let her head rest on his chest.

'What is it about mint ice-cream that you like so much?' she asked him after a while.

'I dunno, it's refreshing, and it's sweet and I never feel sick after I eat it. Why'd you ask?'

'I'm just realising that although we've been mates for ages, I don't really know you that well, I know where you live, where you work, where you went to college and where you want to travel and a whole pile of other stuff, but I don't know your favourite colour or your favourite food or whether or not you like the Star Wars trilogy.'

James chuckled, 'I don't have a single favourite colour, but I'm partial to a combination of red and gold, my favourite food is treacle tart and I'm secretly a Jedi. What about you?'

'Well, my favourite colour is red, which I've never been able to wear as clothing because of my hair. Food would have to be Italian basil and tomato bruschetta and I played Princess Leia in the Star Wars role-play club at college.'

Lily refused to look at James as he stared at her.

'P-Princess Leia role-play in a Star Wars _club_? Did you dress up?'

'Not in the metal bikini.'

'Damn, that would have been a sight to see.'

She punched his arm.

0-0-0-0

**February 15****th****, 1987 – James' apartment, London**

James' alarm clock started trilling at quarter to seven the next morning. Groaning he removed his arm from Lily's waist and tapped the snooze button. Replacing his arm, he tucked his face further into her neck, making Lily squirm.

'Po-James stop!'

'Lily stop moving.'

'We have to get ready for work; I don't have any clothes for work at your place!'

'Oh relax,' he grumbled, 'you can shower here, and then we can walk to yours so you don't look like you're doing the morning walk of shame.'

She elbowed his stomach in response.

'You're so violent to me Lily. One of these days I'll get you back.' He said as he moved his arm to tickle her sides, making her squirm even more. He grinned, 'you're ticklish! I finally have leverage!'

He trapped her to her chest and tickled her waist some more, making her shriek and giggle and wriggle around trying to make him stop. He laughed along with her, not stopping until both their sides ached.

Suddenly his landline phone rang out in the living room. Stopping, they stared at each other for a moment until James flipped back the covers and raced out to answer the phone. Clothed in only his boxer briefs and a singlet he answered the phone.

Lily slipped out of bed too, and followed him out to the living room, dressed only in her underwear and a long t-shirt of his. They shared a look as James listened to whoever was on the other end of the phone. His face grew more and more concerned the longer he listened, before saying 'we'll be there,' and placed the phone back on the receiver.

'Who was that?' she asked, tilting her head to the side. 'Is something wrong?'

'it was Riddle,' he replied, some of the colour drained out of his face, 'he's calling a meeting for tonight, the usual spot.'

'Did he say what it was about, it's not like him to call more than one meeting a week?'

'He didn't say, except that it was urgent and we're required to attend.'

Lily shrugged, 'Well then we better go to it, and we'd better get ready for work.'

'You go have a shower, I'll make us breakfast.'

'Pancakes?'

'Sure.'

0-0-0-0

As they walked hand-in-hand to Lily's apartment discussing the possibilities of what would have caused Riddle to call in a mid-week meeting. They both agreed they couldn't go to the meeting unarmed, but any visible weaponry could just as easily work against them if they were searched.

As supplied by the Team Phoenix costuming department, all their shoes were equipped with a compartment in the heel which housed a slim, four-inch blade along the length of the foot. They decided that that newly issued design was the only weaponry they would risk. They were both extensively trained in knife-fighting, and although it wouldn't be of much help if a gunfight were to break out, it might prevent an attacker from getting too close.

When they reached the foyer to her building, their conversation returned to topics their cover identities would talk about. He waited in her kitchen whilst she changed; he was ready for work much earlier than usual and planned to walk Lily to work so they could talk further. It also gave him an opportunity to run some surveillance to see if anyone was tailing them.

'Hey James?' Lily called out from her bedroom.

'Yeah,' James replied from his spot at the kitchen bench

'I have a question for you, really out of the blue, but I figure no time like the present to ask it...'

'Go ahead.'

A few moments passed, and James briefly considered getting up to see what the matter was,

'Do you want kids someday?' Came the hesitant question, James could tell that her voice was filled with nervousness, but he wasn't sure how much of it was acting.

He pondered his real attitude towards kids, and responded in kind.

'I don't mind 'em, I used to babysit the neighbour's kids when I was a teen, and did some babysitting to help pay my way through college and my barista course.' He sighed before continuing, 'It's not really something I've thought too much about, working an eight to four job means I don't spend a lot of time at home, and although I'd like kids one day, life right now has just been about saving up for my own house so that I can support the family I'll one day have.'

'So someday then?'

'Yeah, someday; preferably not until I'm in a long-term, committed relationship, a less time-consuming job and have the funds to support us as a family.'

He picked at the Formica-covered bench top as he mulled it over further; he hoped Lily would see that he wasn't just talking through his cover, but also for his real job too. How could he have children when his day-to-day job was protecting his nation's government against all kinds of unsavoury people? What kind of protection could he provide for his family if he was never around to protect them because he was required to spend all his waking hours protecting those who run the country?

Lily cleared her throat and walked out of her bedroom towards him dressed in high-waisted jeans and a long sleeved maroon top James had noticed she was partial to.

'What about you?' he asked her. She looked down at her bare feet and leant against the kitchen counter facing him.

'I've never had anything to do with kids; none of my friends have them, except Frank because his wife is due on the second of June. I just...' she paused, picking at her fingernails and glancing up at James, 'the idea of being a parent kind of scares me, not because I'd be terrible at it, but because I know nothing about it. My mum wasn't exactly the warmest person, and it's been over four years since I lost her and dad. I can't exactly ring her up and ask her for advice on motherhood.'

'If you were to find yourself pregnant at any point though, would you keep it?'

'Of course, I'd be terrified out of my mind on how the hell I was going to handle being a parent, but I'd keep it.'

James gave her a lop-sided grin and reached out his arms to pull her closer to him. He let his arms wrap around her hips and rest just above the pockets of her jeans; in response she let her arms rest about his shoulders as she leant down to press her lips to his.

0-0-0-0

As they left Lily's apartment, ten minutes before eight, James had a quick look around to see if any underlings were observing them. The only person outside at that hour was a man walking his dog on the opposite side of the road, but he didn't discount the fact that someone could be watching from a window, or concealed in a car. Taking her hand, as was quickly becoming his custom, they started in the direction on their workplaces.

James thought back to the time they first went under for this mission, Dumbledore had specified that their covers were best mates, but not lovers. How quickly their roles had changed, and although he wasn't alarmed by it, he wasn't sure what had stopped their arguing, not that he missed the banter they were always dishing out to each other on previous partnerships.

'You okay?' Lily asked as she took in his thoughtful look.

'Just thinking,' he replied quietly..

'What about?'

'About how you're okay with this cover relationship we're getting ourselves into!' he exploded in a heated whisper, 'I'm fine with it, I'm a guy; but you, you've always done nothing but reject all my offers for dinner, any covers we've had before we were strictly business partners. This time something's off, there's something you're not telling me about the kind of cover you want us to have.'

Lily looked at him in slight alarm, guilt also gracing her features. 'D-Dumbledore told me to.' She stuttered, 'whilst you were being fitted for your bullet proof vest he pulled me to his office and told me more about the last Riddle case from the early seventies. A couple of the agents he sent in were meant to be a married couple, Marlene McKinnon and Gordon Prewett, two of the people Dumbledore mentioned in our briefing. Apparently one of the giveaway signs that the Riddle's noticed was that they didn't act like a genuine couple. It was also that they didn't always respond to their cover names, which was why Dumbledore sent us in with our first names.' She took a deep breath before continuing. 'He said it was paramount that we _became_ our covers, and that we had to develop our friendship into something that was organic and real, so that we wouldn't be discovered as Phoenix agents. He basically told me to become your girlfriend, I figured I might as well go with it, that's why I asked about the kids this morning, you know as well as I do how hard it is to have any kind of a normal life outside of what we do. It's been two years since I've actually gone on a date, and you made yesterday fun.' She squeezed his hand and looked up at him. 'I'm sorry for not telling you earlier about it, Dumbledore assured me you wouldn't have anything against our covers being more entwined.'

He swung their arms back and forth for a few moments as he thought about the implications of what Lily had just revealed.

'I don't mind, I do wish you had told me earlier though, I got caught up yesterday because it was Valentine's day and didn't think twice about it, but let me know if we're crossing a line at any point, okay?'

'Will do.' Lily replied, smiling.

0-0-0-0

* * *

**Next time:**

'Liar!'_ he yelled, 'I saw your little report about me in your flat! You were going to hand all my hard work in to Thatcher and her cretins! You are a little cowardly snake, and you don't deserve the mercy of a quick death.'_


	6. Going To Fall

**Deliverance. Disorder. Descent.**

Author note – I heard you call for longer chapters,and I am still trying to answer this call; this one tops at about 3,500 words; a whole lot longer than chapter 1 even. This one contains character death, but these deaths do happen canonically anyways.. I do still feel bad for one in particular, and I even cut out much of what originally happened to them because even _I_ was horrified (and I dont want to up the rating to M...). I do admit I'm interested to hear any theories you might have, or possible directions you think I might take this story.. I do have much of it planned out; but a lot of it is just touch and go. Don't forget that little Review box/button at the bottom of this page; authors thrive on reviews.

_for the animal trainer to my primary school teacher.  
_

* * *

**February 15th, 1987 - 'The People' Magazine Headquarters**

Lily sat at her desk, compiling her notes on the latest press releases sanctioned by the major newspapers, the article for her this week was focussing on what the government was hiding from the public, including international relations.

Her next job was to take to the streets, get the opinions of real, regular British people. This was the part of the cover that she enjoyed the most. Usually when she was tasked with crowd blending, she was heavily armed and always looking for suspects, this time however, there was no ear piece, no short-term resolution plan. Right now it was her job to _be _Lily Martin, journalist, best friend of James Harris and a member of the DE. She revelled in the opportunity to be a normal civilian, even if only for a short while.

Stepping out onto the streets, she headed towards the mid-week market, where most of the journalists for the People went to get their public opinion pieces. She'd only been there twice before under this cover, but normally, she'd go there once or twice a month to get some fresh veggies and in-season produce. She walked around the familiar stalls, talking to seller and buyer alike, introducing herself and her role over and over and asking for people's views on government censorship in the media. By the time she had interviewed about 20 people, Lily noticed that there was a man who kept a distance of three stalls between them at all times, he was also being fairly conspicuous in terms of watching her. Rather than let her protective instincts and training kick in, she continued through the crowd, acting natural, even buying herself a small handful of carrots to nibble on at work.

By the time she reached the headquarters for The People, the man had disappeared, but Lily had a fairly good idea of his description and would write a quick note about it before their meeting with Frank in a few days time. Slipping back to her desk, she noticed a paper bag beside her stack of blank paper. Carefully opening it, she saw it contained a fresh sandwich, the kind that was served in the cafe where James worked as a folded note.

It read, '_-Lily, I stopped by quickly to make sure you got lunch, Remus told me you had gone out to the mid-week market for the personal opinion piece you're working on. I'll see you tonight after work. James x'_

She grinned as she folded the note back up, pulled out one half of the sandwich andtucked in.

0-0-0-0

As the afternoon wore on, Lily found herself day dreaming, twirling her pen around her fingers in a relentless pattern. Admitting to James this morning what Dumbledore had confided in her made her feel as though a weight had been lifted. Although she trusted James implicitly, she didn't want her personal feelings to get confused with what she experienced on the job.

Problem was, she was already getting confused. Having James rock up on her doorstep the previous morning, that _kiss_, him taking her to dinner and then falling asleep together in his bed stirred up all sorts of dormant feelings she hadn't felt for a long time. She didn't know what to think; James used to be such an arrogant prick that made her working life hell, but over the past few months and certainly whilst being this deeply undercover with him, she was seeing a whole other side of him. A side that was organic, natural and didn't show any signs of the demeanour he once displayed towards her at work or on previous missions.

She liked this side of him. It wasn't hindered at all by the fact she thought he was attractive, and he clearly put effort into keeping himself fit. She liked the respectful side of him, the one that opened doors for her, brought her lunch, _snogged her senseless at five am on Saint Valentine's Day..._

She puffed her cheeks as she reminisced about that kiss; it was definitely in the top five, no, the top two best kisses she'd ever had. _Who am I kidding?_ She thought to herself, it was the best snog she'd ever had and she knew it.

Not that she was going to tell him that.

She considered how forthcoming Dumbledore had been in telling her the details that brought down all the agents from the previous altercation with the Riddle crime family. Hearing about how Marlene and Gordon didn't act like a married couple, or how Peter was ousted by not responding to his cover name made her wonder just how long Dumbledore had been carefully planning Riddle's eventual return.

She also considered just how fortunate they had been so far. Not even a fortnight after their covers were established, a nameless underling of Riddle came by James' cafe whilst she was there having tea on her lunch break and invited them to an information evening regarding political alternatives. After attending the information night, hosted by the man himself, they were among a dozen or so of the people from the group of about a hundred attendees who were invited to stay behind and given a chance to be a part of the movement that Tom Riddle was bringing to the country, one that he claimed he had already successfully brought through Eastern Europe in countries like Romania and Bulgaria.

In truth, Tom Riddle junior's work in those countries was not politically based, but rather that of infiltrating the crime families and buying them out by providing family heirlooms thought lost to looters after the end of Second World War. Before getting into the criminal empire, the Riddle family was once best known for being world class archaeologists, previously working alongside the British archaeologists who were among the first to enter the tombs in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. The Riddle family only really became outlaws at the start of the Great Depression, when their wealth meant they could prey on the less fortunate. Tom Riddle senior was, by all reports, one of the most ruthless men around in modern times. With money being no object due to the family fortune, he turned his eye on creating a name to be not only respected, but feared.

0-0-0-0

Knocking off from work at four, an hour earlier than usual due to the there being a political announcement being made by Prime Minister Thatcher that called for several of her fellow journalists to attend, Lily decided to surprise James by seeing him at work. Walking down the bustling footpath, she decided to stop by the confectionary store and pick up a snack for them both.

When inside the store, filled to the brim with obnoxiously bright treats, she suddenly realised that she didn't know what James' favourite sweet was. She now knew his favourite flavour of ice-cream, but that didn't exactly transfer onto confectionary sweets in general. He might not even like Peppermint Imps, the tiny white mints shaped like Irish Leprechauns, or the triple chocolate, choc-chip fudge they were selling by the block at the counter. Or would he have a different taste entirely, preferring the cheese-flavoured goldfish crackers that they had imported from the USA or the ANZAC oat biscuits from Australia?

She picked out her personal favourite, a packet of raspberry and blueberry hard-boiled lollies and then turned her focus on finding something James would like. At the counter, the store sold their fresh fudge, as well as a variety of other freshly made patisserie items. Off to the left side, there were miniature treacle tarts and Lily remembered their conversation at the pub the night they were officially sent under; James had said treacle tart was his favourite then. She bought a set of four of the tarts and then continued on her way to his cafe.

James was wiping down a table when she entered, his back turned to her, and she cleared her throat loudly and watched in amusement as he spun quickly on his heels to face her. She had seen this guy previously disarm a gunman with nothing but his bare hands and make a makeshift lock pick with a paperclip, but seeing him do something as ordinary as wiping down a table and clear the plates and cups away made her wonder how he was coping with this as-yet anti-climatic, ordinary lifestyle cover.

'Oh hey,' he said to her, putting the tub of dishes back on the table and coming over to envelope her into a hug, 'enjoy your lunch? Petunia made it for you especially.' He released her and pointed to his slightly sour-faced co-worker who worked in the deli, she smiled at her briefly before continuing to clear out the sandwich bar.

'Thanks Petunia, you really do make the best sandwiches.' She said to the older woman.

'My pleasure Lily.' Petunia called as she entered the cold storeroom with an armful of cold meats.

'It's almost time for us to close up; I'm about to make myself a quick coffee before I turn off the machines, do you want anything?'

'I'd love a coffee too actually, work was slow today and even though I spent all day out at the market talking to people, I feel exhausted.'

'One coffee coming right up.'

Sitting on a stool, she placed her bags on the counter as he made them both coffees.

'Oh, that reminds me; I bought us some treats from that confectionary place down the road.'

'What'd you get me?' he asked, sliding over her takeaway cup.

'Mini treacle tarts.'

He looked delighted as she pulled out the paper bags and handed him one of the tarts. His gave a moan of appreciation as he bit it in half.

'That is fantastic, that is. Truly perfection captured in a pastry.'

She gave a short chuckle, 'I remember you told me once that you liked treacle tart, figured these would be the same, just bite-sized.'

'You are correct, definitely my favourite; that being said though however, I can't hog all this goodness for myself, you have to have one too.'

'I bought myself lollies though.'

'But it's treacle tart, you _have_ to have one.'

'Bu-'

'No "buts" Lily,' he pulled out one of the tarts and held it right in front of her mouth. 'Eat.'

Sighing, and giving him a look, she obliged, biting into the sweet, yet tangy dessert right out of his hand.

0-0-0-0

Walking hand-in-hand towards the meeting place, they talked about what this emergency meeting could entail, were their covers blown; were they about to be executed or was it about them at all?

James was fairly confident that their covers were intact, as Dumbledore had gone to great lengths to ensure their covers were sufficiently backstopped. The People magazine was secretly run by the opposition, funded entirely by Neil Kinnock, leader of the Labour party. The venture, supported by Dumbledore, gave the government a genuine opportunity to seek out the issues the general population had, and root out any true, anti-government entities. The cafe in which James worked was the same, owned by Petunia Dursley and her husband Vernon; both of whom once worked for Dumbledore in an office capacity. Their covers were vouched for by these people, and any public records had been included into the main system, even including some false minor misdemeanours regarding document theft on Lily's part.

His grip on Lily's hand never loosened however and only tightened slightly as they entered the building. She smiled reassuringly at him, although it was her who was more concerned about the two of them being outed and executed. Upon entering the heavy wooden doors, they noticed that only about half of their fellow inductees were there. Among them were people they had spoken to on a couple of occasions after meetings, a tall, dark-haired man named Severus, a short lady named Charity and a gentleman named Lucius and his wife, Narcissa were among those they nodded their hellos to as they found seats.

Eventually Tom Riddle entered, looking harassed and displeased, making James even more unsettled. Riddle took a seat before explaining why he called an emergency meeting,

'I'm sure you're all wondering why I've called a mid-week meeting, and I will explain everything to you in just a moment.' He began softly, his eyes roaming over every face in the room. 'Your meeting the other night was a false step, for a long time I have suspected that the government has sent people in to uncover our true, glorious purpose, so I took the initiative and laid a false trail for the fools to follow. They will be unnecessarily heightening security on the individuals I said would need to die, ensuring all point of entry to the Westminster Palace are guarded and being utterly blind to my real plan.' He paused for a moment, turning to a man standing behind his right shoulder and nodded.

As the man withdrew and quietly moved around the side of the table, flanked by four others, Riddle continued. 'My true purpose in returning to this country is to wipe away the face of your corrupted government, allowing us a as a people to start anew.'

The men continued to make their way down the side of the room, James subtly held his breath as they headed towards Lily and himself, but silently let the breath go as they continued on, to where Severus and Charity were seated.

In an instant, the burly men seized them both, and dragged them out of their chairs. Their screams echoed about the room as they were taken away, the exited the room via the same door Tom had entered only minutes before.

'I apologise for that,' Tom whispered, 'I had long suspected that a secret organisation called Phoenix had infiltrated our midst. The two I've just had taken away are spies, sent by one of the worst men in power, Albus Dumbledore. Ten years ago, my father had a similar dream as mine for our country, but these traitors were relaying our secrets to the government, foiling our valiant efforts at every turn. We weeded them out, one by one; and showed them what it truly means to be a traitor. I invite you all to now join me, as we show these two agents how great our purpose is.'

He motioned for them to stand and follow him, back to the antechamber where Severus and Charity had been dragged.

0-0-0-0

Upon entering the other room, a collective gasp went through the group. Gagged and bound, kneeling on the floor were Severus and Charity, they sported cuts and blossoming bruises they did not have only moments ago. Lily did her best to keep an expressionless face, but she was aghast, Dumbledore hadn't been kidding when he said they made an example of any ousted agents.

James found her hand, and she gripped it tightly.

'My loyal supporters, you have joined me without question, your unwavering support has been invaluable for the past couple of months, now it's time for you to truly know what I have in store for those who oppose me.' He whipped a gun from the back of his waistband and raised it at Charity, who was sobbing and shaking on the ground, her eyes pleading as her muffled screams circled the room. Pulling back the safety catch, he paused for a moment and turned to a camera that none of them had noticed before.

'Your agents have been found out Albus,' he said, looking squarely at the camera, 'I do wish you had learnt your mistake from last time. Such a waste of human life and it's entirely your fault.'

The cameraman panned the lens over the small crowd before getting up close to Charity and Severus, both of whom were now openly crying and shaking, taking a step back to watch the action from the side, he returned the camera lens to Charity. Riddle fired, her body crumbling to the floor and a pool of dark red blood began to pool underneath her head.

James, Lily and the rest of the members took a step back in shock, Narcissa even screaming a little and folding into the arms of her husband. Turning to Severus, now recoiled from Charity's body as best he could, Tom crouched down to him, tapping the loaded gun on his bent knee.

'Oh, you little sneaks thought you could get in to my little revolution without so much as a basic security check. I had you followed Severus,' Tom hissed, 'I know all about how were snooping for information about me and how you were collecting my secrets, all nicely bound up in a little manila folder, ready to give to Dumbledore.'

Severus shook his head no; Tom raised his gun and used the butt of it to whip Severus across the face,

'_Liar!'_ he yelled, 'I saw your little report about me in your flat! You were going to hand all my hard work in to Thatcher and her cretins! You are a little cowardly snake, and you don't deserve the mercy of a quick death.'

Tom nodded once more the head underling, who turned and opened a satchel on the only table in the room. Producing a bottle of clear liquid and a syringe, he filled it expertly, tipping the bottle upside down and drawing out as much as the syringe could hold. Pulling off the wide-tipped needle, he ripped open a surgical single-use needle, it's point so sharp, only the gleam it gave off in the light let everyone know that there was a needle there.

Handing the loaded syringe carefully to his boss, Tom took the needle and faced Severus again.

'This is a diluted venom mixture from several of the world's most venomous snakes.' He whispered, his voice echoing, 'full of neurotoxins and coagulants; it won't kill you straight away. Instead you'll writhe and suffer as your body slowly breaks down. You'll haemorrhage, lose control of your muscles, foam at the mouth and slowly suffocate as your respiratory system shuts down.' Everyone in the room stared at Tom in shock as he knelt down to Severus' eye level again. Severus and Charity's shoes and socks had been ripped off during their few moments alone with the guards, their clothing and hair dishevelled as well. Leaning around Severus' body, Riddle inserted the needlepoint into his big toe. Severus screamed through the rag tied to his face as a makeshift gag. Thrashing about, he nearly knocked Tom over as the venom started to get into his system.

Stepping back, Tom turned to the rest of the group, 'If you have any thoughts about turning back now, I suggest you take it three weeks ago. From here on in, if you even think about turning traitor like these two, you'll meet the same unfortunate ending as these two. You're dismissed, go home now.'

With that, he strode out of the room flanked by two of his goons, leaving the body of Charity, the thrashing form of a doomed Severus, the cameraman who was still filming and the group behind. Following everyone else out James and Lily quickly exited the room; taking one last pitying glance to the man they'd only spoken to a couple of times before as he started to convulse and fit next to Charity's inert body.

0-0-0-0

Leaving the building far behind them, they decided to walk through one of the empty parks as a detour to Lily's flat. When they were obscured by the foliage, and sure no one had followed them, Lily ducked behind a bush to throw up. James held her hair as she emptied her stomach, and shivered as the colder evening air hit her.

Searching her bag quickly, he pulled her out a couple of tissues for her to wipe her mouth.

When she had cleaned herself up, she looked up at him,

'James that could have been us,' she whispered quietly, 'as far as I know, that _should_ have been us.'

'It wasn't though,' he whispered back, equally as quiet, 'you made me promise that day that I wouldn't die on you, and I'm going to keep that promise, and I expect you to return the favour.'

'Okay.' She whispered, resting her pounding head against his arm. 'We need to get a message to headquarters; we need to have our meeting with Frank moved up, much, much earlier than next week.'

'I'll talk to Petunia in the morning and get her to send a message to Albus about getting Frank to meet us sooner.' He replied, keeping a watchful eye out around them, 'Right now though, we need to get you home, you need to eat, keep your strength up and rest.'

Nodding she stood back up straight and accepted his hand.

'You'll stay with me, right?' she asked him,

'Until the very end Lils.'

0-0-0-0

* * *

**Next time:**

_It meant there was potentially a mole at Phoenix, or up in the higher echelons of government; someone was keeping Riddle informed._


	7. Going To Realise

Deliverance. Disorder. Descent.

Author note – huzzah, never fear, the marauders are _almost_ here. This is my last half-week of semester break so I'll try to write as much as I possibly can over the coming few days and then we'll see how busy I get as uni smacks me in the face yet again. 18 months to go! I watched Skyfall (bond movie) over the last weekend and OH MAN, I could make so many links to DeDiDe despite the fact I'd never seen it before. Ralph Fiennes was in virtually the same role as Dumbledore (despite being voldemort) and Bond was kickass and the bad guy was absolutely merciless (like MY dedide muggle Riddle..) and just. Can I have an A3 page to LIST THE REASONS why the Bond family chateau in Scotland just reeks of Potter/Stag things, I mean.. did any of you notice the entrance to the property?! *takes deep calming breaths...* OKAY. Read on and don't forget to review!

_for the ... Sasha to my Fierce. Together we make Beyonce._

* * *

James made Lily dinner after she had brushed her teeth twice over, and they ate it curled up in each other on the couch. Neither spoke, the events of earlier putting a dampener on any conversation. Lily still had the mental image of Severus writhing on the floor in agony burnt into the forefront of her mind. James could tell she was more affected by the guy's death than she let on, but he didn't press her over it.

They turned on the telly, to watch the late night news, The Soviet war in Afghanistan was declared over, the drummer of the Kinks, Mick Avory turned forty-five and the election campaigns were in full swing as the major news report of the night covered the current political standings of the members running for the top job.

They stayed curled up as the evening shows played, neither of them paying too much attention to the flashing screen. Eventually, rather than run the risk of starting a conversation that could expose them, Lily just tucked her head into his neck and closed her eyes. In time, closing her eyes didn't lessen the continuing replay of events, the sound of the gunshot, Charity's body falling limp, the growing pool of blood underneath her messed up hair, Severus's muffled screams, the ruthlessness shown to both of the now-deceased from Riddle. Wrenching her eyes open, she decided the best thing to do was to seek comfort from elsewhere – James.

He could empathise with her; the shocking turn of events at the meeting tonight had scared them both. It meant there was potentially a mole at Phoenix, or up in the higher echelons of government; someone was keeping Riddle informed.

Kissing his neck, as it was the only skin she could get to without moving, she leant closer to him, bringing her arms about his neck to pull him down closer to her. Her lips dragged across his skin as he angled his face closer to hers. Eventually their lips met and she melted into the kiss as he deepened it. She wasn't sure if she was kissing him to keep cover, as a coping mechanism, or because he kissed really well, but she wasn't even considering pulling away. Leaning back along the length of the couch, James pulled her on top of him, wrapping his arms more securely around her back.

They continued to make out, not paying any attention to the world about them. Breaking away after a few minutes, she nudged her nose against his and leant back in for another short kiss. Legs entangled in each others' they lay that way for a few minutes, catching their breaths and slowing their heat rates. As Lily rested her head against his and looked into his eyes, she knew that even if she claimed otherwise, she was definitely, completely certain that she was genuinely falling for James. There was a look in his eyes that drew her in, the side of his lips quirked up slightly as he took in her dishevelled appearance. He lifted a hand to her cheek and softly caressed the soft skin along her jaw line.

'It's getting late,' he murmured, 'you should get some sleep.'

She nodded, looking at him again, her eyes pleading silently for him to stay the night. He either didn't pick up the message, or had ignored at, as he reached over the end of the couch to find his coat. She gave him an annoyed look, which he didn't see as he had turned away from her.

'Will you stay?' she asked him quietly, 'I don't particularly want to be alone.'

He turned back to her and nodded once, 'and what will I do for clothes for work tomorrow? I'm not doing the walk of shame at seven in the morning.' He teased.

For the first time that evening, she smiled, 'have you forgotten you have a pile of clean clothes in my spare room wardrobe that you left here as emergency change of clothing after you got soaked trying to walk to my place in the pouring rain the other month?'

His eyes brightened as he remembered that occasion, not a week after they got settled in, he decided to take a walk over to hers on a Sunday afternoon, but before he had gotten even halfway, the rain started pouring down, and he was soaked through in moments, ending up on her doorstep dripping and looking worse for wear. Since then, he made sure he had a set of fresh clothing at her place for occasions like rainy days... or sleepovers.

Standing up, Lily took their used cups and dishes, depositing them in the sink to be washed in the morning. She then held out her hands to James, who took them, she half dragged him off the couch and made him follow her to her bedroom, turning off and on lights respectively. Without any regard to modesty, Lily dropped his hands, turned away from him and whipped off her tops, leaving her in her pants and bra, the former which soon followed the tops. James admirably did his best to give her the privacy, but his gaze kept flicking to her slight form as she turned back the covers over the bed and groped around under her side of the bed for her pyjamas. Blinking, James realised he was staring at her and not getting ready for bed himself.

It was similar, yet different to the way they slept the night before. Although James reached out at some point to wrap his hand around her waist and pull her closer to him, the mood shared between them was nowhere near as playful or as relaxed as the night before. Lily rolled over to face him, and once more tucked her nose into his throat. She found she was quite comfortable there, and felt completely safe in his arms; as though the horrors of their current situation couldn't get to them as long as his arms stayed around hers.

0-0-0-0

When morning came for them, the sunlight peeking through the bedroom curtains, James noticed that Lily had barely moved an inch since she rolled over during the night to bury her face in his neck. He thought she might have been woken up by nightmares, similar to the ones that flirted about the edges of his dreams as he slept, but she hadn't woken up screaming or be jolted from a nightmare. The events of last night's unexpected meeting meant that Riddle knew Dumbledore and Phoenix would be involved in attempts to infiltrate the DE, whose full name was as-yet unknown to everyone he had talked to. The deaths of Charity and Severus meant that maybe Riddle was feeling more secure about his inductees, confident he had weeded out the spies.

Rather than dwell on it further, as there was nothing he could do about it further at the moment, he looked down at the still-sleeping form of Lily. Asleep, all the worry lines that had been etched into her face the evening before were wiped away; her expression completely serene and relaxed. It made James wish even more she was in a different profession; far, far away from this fresh horror. She would be a great mother, he decided; her calm temperament and loving nature meant she connected to others easily too; he thought she had adapted to her cover as a journalist well, but her tenacity and quick wit drew him to her more than he had thought possible. He didn't want her to be anywhere near Riddle, but at the same time, he didn't want anyone to be his partner on this case than her.

Taking in her calm face, he gently traced her features with a finger, noting the few faded freckles along the bridge of her nose. She sighed, her eyes beginning to flutter as she awoke. James smiled at her as her eyes opened.

'G'morning,' he murmured to her, 'did you sleep well?' he asked.

She nodded slightly, a single up and down motion of her head. She wriggled her nose back into the junction of his throat, trying to get back to the warmth he provided. He put his arm around her waist and drew her flush against him. She let out a soft sigh, her breath warm on his neck. Their feet intertwined, they stayed immobile for a few minutes until Lily's bladder became a force to be reckoned with. She stumbled into the bathroom, leaving James to peek about her room in the early morning light. He noticed she didn't have a large amount of personal belonging in the apartment, only a photo on top of her dresser, and a small, open pewter jewellery box next to it. At his apartment, James had a pile of old photos that he used on undercover missions, a variety of one's taken from his childhood albums, and ones specially taken to provide back stories on his former covers such as hiking with fellow agents Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, both of them near enough in age to make them mates.

He thought about the photos he had that Lily didn't; female agents were still uncommon, so cover photos with a group of girls would be hard to create without pulling in women from other sub-departments. Sirius, Remus and he were once grouped together on a training exercise to uncover an extremist who was in the Army. The day after they finished the mission, the threat having been assessed and dealt with, the three of them decided to spend the day hiking. As an ex-cop, Sirius knew some of the best trails around and they spent the day hiking, taking in the sights and providing all three of them with a brilliant tale that could be added to virtually any cover back-story as all three were officially off-record.

Lily crawled back under the covers and snuggled right back into his side.

'I don't want to go to work today,' She mumbled, 'Can we call in sick and just stay here all day?'

James smirked, the sides of his mouth tugging into a smile.

'We could, but then that means you have twice the workload tomorrow and I have a pile of regulars who will be disgruntled that they didn't get their daily dose of caffeine.'

She groaned as she wrapped her arm around his waist and wriggled herself as close to him as possible. Peeking over her shoulder, James looked at the clock on her bedside table, the face reading only a few minutes to seven AM. Knowing they had a few minutes, he let his head drop back to the pillow and buried his face in her hair.

It was strange to think how quickly and easily they were falling into a domestic routine, cooking each other meals, him walking her to work, cuddles on the couch and then sleeping together wrapped up in each other's warmth. He had no complaints, he knew he liked her; he'd known for a long time that he was attracted to her and made no effort to stop the fact. He just wasn't sure what she felt in return. Previously, she had always rebuffed his advances with a fierce and definite "no"; but in this case she was... all over him. He certainly wasn't complaining, but he didn't want her to act in a way that she wouldn't normally, not under the pretence of a cover and especially only because their boss said it would save their lives. He liked to think that she was genuinely warming up to him, but with their houses bugged, and limited opportunities to talk outdoors didn't give him time to bring up the topic with her.

0-0-0-0

Later on in the afternoon, James called Lily at work, something he hadn't done before, telling her that he'd be working late, but that he wanted her to come by after she'd finished and they could go out to dinner together afterwards. She agreed and made sure to write a shorthand note on her hand so that she'd remember.

She wasn't entirely sure why he asked her to come over, but she thought maybe there was a message from Dumbledore for them regarding the case; it was entirely possible that the deaths of Charity and Severus had already been sent to the head office of The Phoenix and Dumbledore wanted to get more information on it. It was also possible that James was actually just working late and wanted to take her out to dinner, making it their third dinner in a row together.

Either option didn't bother her; Phoenix needed as much information as they could get about the inner workings of the DE, and of late, her dinners with James had been something she looked forward to. In fact, it almost concerned her how much she was looking forward to more evenings spent with him, eating dinner, their conversations, the physical contact, his warmth.

She looked as the scribble on the back of her hand and smiled; she was starting to realise that she really liked James, and she was completely okay with it.

0-0-0-0

* * *

**Next time:**

As they left the takeaway store a sleek, black motorbike pulled up alongside them. The man flipped up his visor and grinned at them both.

'Jimmy, long time, no see,' he crowed, turning off the engine to his bike. 'We need to go hiking again soon, you're getting fat.'


	8. Going To Get Angry

**Deliverance. Disorder. Descent.**

Author note – my last few hours of freedom approach. semester 2 of my uni year is about to truly start. I have to go buy my textbooks and then the horror/fun begins. PLEASE read AND review! getting an email saying so and so has reviewed my stories actually makes my day and encourages me to write faster and update more often. **so REVIEW PLEASE. **if i have to suffer 13 weeks of univeristy followed by 6 weeks of placement, then i'm SURE you can spend a minute or two typing out some positive/negative spiel about how much you love/hate this story.

_for the American to my Aussie.  
_

* * *

By the time work finished, Lily was half a ball of nervous energy and was virtually running out the door as soon as she was officially knocked off. She wrapped a scarf about her throat and buttoned her coat up to the top button as she walked towards James' cafe with purpose.

By the time she arrived to the cafe, her cheeks were red and her nose numb from the cold air. James was still making the drinks for several customers seated about the room, several engrossed in newspapers and gossip magazines. Upon noticing her, Petunia said hello and gave her a warm smile as she continued to clean out her sandwich bar. James peeked out behind his coffee machine and looked in the direction and found Lily standing there waiting patiently for him. He sent a smile in greeting and stepped out from behind the counter to hand some takeaway cups to the people standing down. Before going back to his station he wrapped an arm about her waist and pulled her in for a quick kiss. It was a squelchy kiss as she wasn't expecting it, their lips mashed together awkwardly and Lily had to angle her head slightly to improve the kiss.

He released her and slipped back to behind the counter to complete the last couple of orders. She looked at her feet, blushing fiercely as she could feel the eyes of the customers at her back. When she braved looking up at towards James, he had a huge grin on his face and his eyes kept flicking between the latte he was making and her red face. She grinned back at him and pulled a stool out from the bench at the window and mindlessly flipped through an old weekly gossip magazine, determinedly not looking at James until the last of the customers had left.

She was in the middle of reading an article about how the actor who played the main role in the American sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel-Air had been arrested on assault when James came to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and looking at the magazine over her shoulder.

'Anything interesting?' he asked.

'Not really,' she replied, bored, 'the usual celebrity meltdown and the photographers selling photographs of every angle of every single socialite Britain has.'

She flipped closed the magazine and leant into James' embrace, closing her eyes and enjoying the comfort he provided. All day she had been thinking of Charity and Severus, and the horrors they must have faced in their final moments, and how she and James should have been in their place.

'Come with me,' James whispered as he locked the front door and turned the sign so that the "closed" side was displayed to the street. He took her hand and led her to the back room that was used for storage.

In the room stood Albus Dumbledore, flanked by Frank Longbottom and Remus Lupin. Apparently the coffee shop had a secret back door as Petunia came out from behind them and mentioned she had secured the back entrance. Their boss looked relieved to see that both of them were unharmed, but there was a tinge of sadness in his expression too.

Without any preamble, he delved into his explanation for being there in person.

'I'm glad you're both alive. Unfortunately it seems as though we have a leak in the government somewhere so my visit here is strictly to be kept mum; last night we received the videos of Charity Burbage and Severus Snape's deaths and that's why I'm here. Remus has done all he can to pull evidence from the videos themselves, focusing on the footage of the group members including yourselves, is there anything of importance we missed?'

Both Lily and James shook their heads no. Lily's eyes were welling up again as she remembered how Severus convulsed as the venom spread through his system.

'They were civilians, they didn't deserve that; it could, and probably should have been us.' She whispered in horror.

Dumbledore looked at her sadly, 'Miss Burbage was indeed a civilian, she was a third grade school teacher at a nearby elementary; Severus Snape was however one of my informers.' He explained, 'About five years ago I helped clear his name as a suspect after his wife was murdered in a home invasion, since then he's been working as a civilian informant. Their families have been notified and their bodies are being prepared for burial.'

Lily looked away from her boss, horrified. 'You should have let us know we had others on our side in there.' She whispered.

'I couldn't risk you greeting anyone with familiarity; you needed to be strangers to everyone there.'

'You should have trusted us to do this.' She snapped at him, her hand wrenched out of James' as she waved them angrily, 'instead we have two dead people on our hands and we're stuck in the middle of the biggest terrorist threat our nation has seen in over a decade and you want James and I to play happy family and pretend like we are oblivious to this.'

Her outburst shocked the men in the room, even James looked at her concerned. Dumbledore took a few breaths and looked at her squarely in the eyes.

'The reason I sent you both in together is because you are the only two agents whose records are for my eyes only.' Dumbledore explained, 'according to every other agency, you two don't exist and outside of that, your real lives are kept under lock and key at all times. All my other younger agents have been gleamed from other agencies, the private sector and the army; but you two are the only ones who came straight to Phoenix, you are the only two for this job. As for playing the happy family, you know perfectly well why romantic relationships cause less suspicion than that of good friends of the opposite gender, you know what happened to Marlene McKinnon and Gordon Prewitt and I will not make the same mistake twice.'

Rather than answer her boss, she turned to Frank, 'Are you still coming for the usual update on Monday?' she asked him, her eyes still full of unshed tears that she refused to let fall. He nodded at her and glanced at James who still hadn't moved from her side.

Dumbledore clearly could sense that conducting a meeting wasn't going to progress very far, so he nodded at Lily and didn't speak to her again. Lily looked down, slightly ashamed of her sudden outburst. She recognised that part of her problem with Dumbledore was that he had actively endangered Snape, and clearly hadn't taken measures to ensure he was safe in his own home. Riddle had bugged their flats with technology that was only publically in its prototype phases, and Dumbledore had run counter surveillance for the safety of his actual operatives, but not the one civilian informant. She thought his apparent disregard for Snape's life was abhorrent and she wasn't about to let him forget it, she thought that if Dumbledore could be so blasé about Severus Snape's death, it made him no better than Riddle.

A few moments after Dumbledore, James, Remus and Frank traded a few words about Riddle's organisation; the men turned and exited the same way they came in. Once the door clicked softly behind them Lily brought her hands to her face and groaned.

'I shouldn't have gotten so angry at him,' she moaned, 'but how could he do that to Severus? He was innocent.'

Rather than reply, James took her hand again and pulled her to his side. He let go of her hand and brought his arm up to wrap about her shoulders; kissing her temple, he let his nose rest on her hairline above her ear and she started to shake from all the emotions that she was feeling. The remorse and guilt, the anger and frustration, the grief and the sadness all poured through her simultaneously. She couldn't let herself cry, she couldn't risk the puffy red eyes; if there was someone tailing them at any point, coming to the back store room meant that they would both have the leave the room looking as though they'd engaged in a snogging session, and snogging for real was towards the bottom of the list of things she'd like to have done at that point.

Instead, she leant back from James' embrace and messed up his hair untidy hair even more. She liked how his hair felt; it was curled slightly at the ends, making it catch on her fingers as she ran them over his scalp. When he looked suitably dishevelled, she let her hands drop, and started messing her own hair up. Catching onto her idea, James took over the job, running his warm hands through her long red hair. Soon they looked the part, and turned to go back to the main sitting area, hand in hand. Putting smiles on their faces, they exited and locked up the front door.

'Let's go to McDonalds.' James suggested, Lily nodding her acquiescence and they headed off in the direction of the nearest store. Looking at their surroundings, James could spot at least one person who appeared to be tailing them, a tall man wearing a long black overcoat and leather gloves. He kept a fairly large distance from them, but James could tell that he kept them in his line of sight as much as possible.

When they arrived at the takeaway, so similar to the same store they once had their eating competition in, Lily felt her spirits lift for the first time since the evening before as she remembered how easily she had beat James at a competition he had devised. It was a few years back, after they had finished their first paired mission and he had been teasing her relentlessly about her hand to hand fighting skills. Dubbing her his "ginger ninja" and had boasted that he could not only fight better than her, but also beat her in virtually anything. That evening before heading back to their private home lives, they had pulled a draw in a claw drop game, both spending ten pounds before getting a prize, James won the beer sculling round later that evening at McGinty's Irish pub, and then Lily beat him at chess back at Phoenix HQ.

Lily smiled as she thought back to that time, back when she was a junior agent, before she had done specialised weapons training, before she had killed someone, before Riddle had come back to haunt the nation. Looking up at James, she could see a similar smile on his face as he perused the menu board. She squeezed his hand as they waited in line for their turn to be served. The man tailing them had disappeared and James saw no reason to inform Lily about him, it wasn't as though they were splitting up at point during the evening.

They ordered a burger, fries and a drink each before finding a booth to sit at. They got seats towards the back of the restaurant and sat next to each other to eat. James alternating between bites of food and making loud chewing noises in Lily's direction whilst she studiously ignored him. They watched the other restaurant patrons; the families eating, children begging their parents to be allowed on the playground, those who ordered dinner for themselves as a takeaway and the few young couples who sat close together, sharing a large fries and talking animatedly about something that happened to them today.

As they left the takeaway store a sleek, black motorbike pulled up alongside them. The man flipped up his visor and grinned at them both.

'Jimmy, long time, no see,' he crowed, turning off the engine to his bike. 'We need to go hiking again soon, you're getting fat.'

James snorted, Lily looking nonplussed at the interaction. She knew he was an agent, but never knew they had worked together or socialised outside of work.

'Sirius, you dog,' James replied laughing, 'you're the one who needs to get off the seat of his bike once in a while.'

The boys hugged, clapping each other heartily on the back. Lily stood by James awkwardly until the boys released each other. Sirius had let his hair grow since last she saw him, his locks almost reaching his shoulders. Although they had met a few times before, Sirius gestured for James to introduce them. He introduced Lily as his girlfriend and in that moment Lily knew she was in way too deep with James.

She didn't like being considered his girlfriend, she _loved_ it.

0-0-0-0

* * *

**Next time:**

'_What's that look for?' she asked him as soon as she noticed the expression on his face._

_'What face?' he replied innocently, still letting his eyes rove over her body._

_She lifted a hand and circled his face with it, paying most of her attention to his mouth, 'that smug little grin you've got going on there; _that _face.'_


	9. Going To Love You

**Deliverance. Disorder. Descent.**

Author note – this is officially my last update before I head into a crazy 13 weeks of uni, followed by an even crazier 6 weeks of prac placement... the updates will still be coming, just not as frequently :)

ALSO, there's so many FACTS in this story, politicians, events, life-things like VHS and the original Hairspray film being released in '88... much of it is sourced from the wider internet informations, so kudos to those who can spot all the hidden facts strewn about the chapters of this story!

AND please read and REVIEW.

_for the chick who wrote "Never Underestimate A Girl", my first favourite FF story and the one that inspired me to start writing instead of just reading.  
_

* * *

After they spent some time talking to Sirius, he got back on his motorbike and sped off into the night, promising to drop by the cafe sometime over the weekend. James' spirits were lifted high, aside from Lily's earlier snappish attitude towards their boss; he thought she'd had a good night as well. Linking arms and shoving their hands deep into coat pockets, they walked slowly in the direction of home. It wasn't too late in the evening, there were still many people milling about and walking along the streets, but James was confident that could talk in secret.

'You wanna talk about earlier?' he asked.

'What part of earlier did you have in mind?' she replied, her eyebrows raised as she looked at him.

'The part where you lost your cool with our boss and basically called him out on his disregard for Severus' safety, followed by the part where you got all mad that we're playing "happy family". I get the Snape bit, Dumbledore should have made adequate preparations for anyone he knew was on our side before they even got within a hundred metres of Riddle and his criminal empire, but why are you so mad about the depth of our covers?'

Lily looked at her feet as she walked, her smile long gone and any form of humour from earlier dissolved, 'I'm not angry with Dumbledore for the complexity of our covers, I'm mostly angry at him for the secrets he's keeping; we didn't even _know_ about Severus being on our side until after died a painful death administered via his feet.'

'You didn't answer the part about the "happy family" comment.' James reminded her.

Peeking up at him from underneath her lashes, her mouth twisted as though she was sucking on a bitter lemon sherbet. She clearly didn't want to voice whatever it was she was thinking, but to save his heart, he felt as though he had to know.

'Tell me.'

Sighing, Lily finally braved looking at him, 'The only reason I brought it up in the first place to Dumbledore is because he never mentioned to you that our covers would need to be improvised slightly; what if you hadn't played along?'

'That's not the real reason is it?' he asked, nudging her side gently with his elbow.

'No,' she groaned, looking down again, 'I-I like you James, more than I should, and being your pretend girlfriend just makes it all the more harder because it's not going to last forever and then once we're finished with this mission we'll go back to our everyday lives protecting backbencher politicians and preventing terrorist threats from dim-witted psychopaths with idea of going down in history. I can't have something real with you, and that's what I hate about this whole thing.' A small tear escaped from her eye, and James pulled out his clean handkerchief and wiped away her tears. He looked about them, but they were adjacent to a grassy park and there was no one in sight.

'We don't have to be in a fake relationship you know?' he questioned her; 'we could very easily date for real. Forget about Riddle and Dumbledore and our jobs for a few minutes, if we were regular, ordinary people with regular, ordinary jobs and we weren't in the first port of call when our nation is in danger, would you want to be with me?'

Appearing to have lost the ability to speak, Lily nodded her yes.

0-0-0-0

This time, when they entered Lily's apartment, their lips joined furiously and hands frantically grasping at hair and shoulders and skin, it was not to keep up the pretence of their cover. They both knew what they wanted and what they wanted was each other. The removal of coats and shoes was followed quickly by tops and pants. They didn't care about the cameras, or their covers, or their mission; all they paid attention to was the fact that they were Lily and James and the fact they were very much attracted to each other.

After drifting in and out of sleep for several hours, curled up in each others' arms, Lily and James snuggled into each other and settled in to sleep properly.

0-0-0-0

**February 17****th****, 1989**

Their Friday started early, they awoke before the sun even considered rising; Lily's hand was splayed across his bare chest, her head tucked into her favourite spot in his neck. His arms were wrapped tightly about her shoulders, his fingers running lightly over her spine as they listened to the few cars driving past on the streets below. They didn't speak, even though they could tell the other was awake. They stayed as they were when the first rays on sunlight brightened the room, breathing in the scent of each other until the unwelcome alarm clock blared.

Wrapping the bed sheet about her frame, Lily tiptoed out to the kitchen to get a drink of water. Although she was fully aware of the bugs about her flat, she mostly wanted a few seconds away from James so he couldn't see the grin that graced her features. He had snuck up behind her, surprising her as he lifted her up by the waist with one hand, and pulled the drink out of her hands with the other before twirling her about the kitchen, laughing all the while. She was pleased to note he had the decency to put his underwear on and even more pleased to note that he hadn't put a shirt on.

He twirled her a few times before revealing his true intention for stalking her to the kitchen – tickle torture.

She squealed as his fingers wriggled along her ribs, squirming as she let her knees give away and they fell to the floor laughing, James continuing to tickle her as they rolled about the floorboards. The bed sheet started to slip from her body and she scrambled to keep herself covered. James noticed her efforts and made no efforts to hinder them, instead a smirk graced his features.

'What's that look for?' she asked him as soon as she noticed the expression on his face.

'What face?' he replied innocently, still letting his eyes rove over her body.

She lifted a hand and circled his face with it, paying most of her attention to his mouth, 'that smug little grin you've got going on there; _that_ face.'

'Lils, I've seen you naked, of course I'm going to be smug about it.' She blinked at him, her mouth gaping open like a fish. 'How many men could say that they got to see their best girl friend become their girlfriend? And how many men get to lay claim to the fact that they got to see their best girl friend naked? Hence, the smug look.'

She punched his arm.

0-0-0-0

Several blocks away from Lily's flat, in an office full of computers, Tom Riddle junior looked over the shoulder of one of his henchmen, watching a handful of computer screens, each recording the goings on at houses he had ordered to be bugged. With technology advancing more than fifteen years ahead of public knowledge, Riddle knew none of the members he was watching would have any idea of the level of surveillance he was putting on them. Seeing activity in one of the screens he pointed at it

'Pull up Lily's Martin's apartment.' He ordered. The man at the computer brought up the video and audio files to full screen, and Riddle had a birds-eye view of Lily's living room, where she was currently wearing nought but a sheet and closely wrapped up in her new boyfriend. He initially had his suspicions about the two, the way they acted made him think of Phoenix agents, but the past week of carefully having them watched had cleared him of the thought, Phoenix might be good, but their agents were always by the book and never overstepped the line when it came to personal boundaries whilst on the job – an attitude that always gave them away.

Although leaving all those he put under surveillance a small amount of privacy, never placing video feed bugs in the bedrooms or bathrooms, the audio feed from their apartments alone was enough to make him think that both Lily and James were nothing more than the civilians that they presented themselves as. If he ended up being incorrect however, then Phoenix had definitely stepped up its game in agent training, because even he was convinced of the genuine nature of their blossoming relationship. The couple had retreated back to the bedroom to prepare for the last working day of the week, both talking of their plans for the weekend. James made mention of a friend they had seen the previous night, someone named Sirius, who James went hiking with on occasion as someone to meet up with over the course of the their two non-working days. They also made mention of the weekly DE meeting that was scheduled, James wondering aloud whether or not the meeting that Tom himself had ordered earlier that week would affect anything.

Tom smirked; the only thing the meeting after Valentine's Day affected was the amount of information Dumbledore and his Phoenix agents would be getting. He had realised in the early days of planning that it would only take the merest whisper of his name and connections to being back in the country to get Phoenix up in arms. So rather than take anything more than his ordinary precautions, he let them come. Having laid his false trail with an elaborate assassination/government takeover, the Phoenix agents quickly revealed themselves - Snape with his blaringly obvious note taking at his apartment, and Charity with her late-night rendezvous with a man who worked in the lower levels of Margaret Thatcher's political campaign; their actions exposing them to him.

Listening back into the conversation between Lily and James, he wondered how easy it would be use them in the recruiting department, James perhaps not so much, as Tom believed his talent lay in information gathering, what with him working in a coffee shop that could so easily be a hotbed for the sharing of political secrets if word got out of it being a good, private place to go, but Lily's talent for words made him wonder if he could rope her in as propaganda tool. Stepping back from the computer screens, he put his hand to his chin and tapped it lightly, thinking about how best to use all his new recruits to the best advantage.

0-0-0-0

After saying their farewells to each other outside Lily's workplace, they went about their last working day, Lily finalising her weekly article on censorship, the media and politics, whilst James prepared drinks and food for the people coming in who were hungry, thirsty and wanted to stay out of the fine drizzling rain that had not long ago started to fall. In the moments where he was left to his own devices, he wondered just how deep he was getting into this cover; the relationship developing between Lily and himself was genuine for him, and he thought that they same went for Lily, after all, she was the one who kissed him first the previous evening. If anything, James was grateful that Lily had grown to like him back; she was beautiful and feisty and always kept him on his toes.

He just had to keep hoping that they would both survive this recon mission.

When knock-off time finally came around later in the afternoon, they both went to their respective flats, having agreed that morning that they would spend the evening apart, especially since they'd spent virtually all week together. James called Sirius on the number he provided, the home phone of the flat he was in whilst doing his own undercover Op for Dumbledore; inviting him around for beers and a night of watching football on the television.

When Sirius came around, a six pack tucked under his arm, the game was just about to start, Liverpool versus Manchester United, the team members warming up on their respective sides of the field. Cracking open a beer each, they collapsed onto James' couch, putting their feet up on the coffee table and leant back to enjoy the game. James had put out a couple bowls of chips and they munched on them quietly as the game progressed.

'You still play?' Sirius asked James at one point.

'Gotten a bit rusty, I haven't played for months now, what about you?'

'Same, last time I played was for my cousin Nym's eighteenth birthday, she and her mates wanted to play, so we did a girls versus boys match down at the park.'

'Who won?'

Sirius picked at the label of his beer before answering, 'the girls thrashed us, 10-4. Didn't help that my brother can't play for squat and that Nym and her two best friends are training up for the professional Women's Under 21 team.'

James snickered, even as Sirius punched his arm for it. 'I'd like to see you play against them, you wouldn't stand a chance!' Sirius crowed.

0-0-0-0

At her flat, Lily had finished pampering herself; a bubble bath followed by a yoghurt facemask, a home manicure and pedicure, and she had just finished applying a honey and olive oil mixture to rehydrate her hair. Wrapping up her head in an old towel she leant over and inserted a VHS tape of Hairspray into her home video player, intent on watching and singing along with every line.

As the pre-movie advertisements played, Lily went about preparing herself a small pizza for tea, and once that was in the oven cooking, she went and rinsed her hair out; as the opening sequence for Hairspray blared out from the living room, Lily hummed along to the tune as she towel-dried her hair. Even though the film had been out for less than a year, she had already memorised the words to the songs and the VHS tape was one of the few things that came with her from her own private house in Surrey.

Checking on the pizza's cooking progress every couple of minutes, Lily sock-slid about her apartment, dancing along to the beat of the music.

A few seconds after she pulled her pizza from the oven, a knock came from the front door. Not expecting anyone, as she was dressed in her flannel pyjamas and fluffy pink dressing gown, she paused the movie and went to the peep hole to see who it was. Lily was able to get a quick glance of an approaching figure all dressed in black before the door burst open, the whole door fall inwards towards her as the hinges gave way.

0-0-0-0

**Next time:**

_Following an officer with some trepidation, he climbed the three flights of stairs to get to her apartment, where several detectives were taking photographs and dusting for prints, James' eyes roaming the room for Lily's familiar form._


	10. Going To Fight For You

**Deliverance. Disorder. Descent.**

Author note – I'd apologise for the cliffy, but I'm not sorry, it's a relief to know I can induce some form of shock in people still. ;) This one was finished ahead of time, and since Being Lionedhearted was updated, I was 'inspired' (or y'know, guilted via Whatsapp) into posting this one a day early. These chapters from now-on will be written under the burning of the midnight oil as I do my best to go and stay full-nerd mode this semester so I can bump up my grade average... :)

Please read and REVIEW.

_To the chic who said these dedications were getting more feels inducing._

* * *

When the call came through to James, Lily's quiet voice on the other end, he knew something was wrong. He could hear low male voices coming from her end, and the unmistakeable shrill of a nearby police siren. James could tell by her calm slow voice that something was definitely wrong and immediately acquiesced when she asked if he would come over.

Riding on the back of his best mate's motorbike was not something James would easily forget; helmetless, dressed only in his jeans and a knitted sweater, the two minute ride from his flat to Lily's was part terrifying, part exhilarating, the ride not made any less scary by Sirius' reckless driving. There were a half dozen police cars and an ambulance outside Lily's apartment block, the area cordoned off already by police line tape and police personnel. Giving his name and purpose for being there to the closest guard, he was permitted into the exclusion zone, With Sirius telling James he would stay there with his bike until James came back.

Following an officer with some trepidation, he climbed the three flights of stairs to get to her apartment, where several detectives were taking photographs and dusting for prints, James' eyes roaming the room for Lily's familiar form. He was relieved to find her sitting at one of the barstools in the kitchen, her hands wrapped around a steaming mug. With the officer he followed giving him a nod, he went straight to Lily, Pulling the cup from her hands the same way he did that morning and wrapped her tightly into a hug. The ambulance attendant who she had been speaking to withdrew a few steps and let them have a moment together. Burying his face in her head, he tucked her head into his throat, just the way she did when they slept in each others' arms. They didn't speak until the paramedic coughed and mentioned that he did need to finish her health check.

Nodding, James released her from his tight grip, letting his left hand slide down her right arm until he found her hand, grasping that tightly instead. As the attendant checked her pulse and heart rate, James asked her what happened.

'I dunno,' she replied, 'it happened so fast, I was watching Hairspray and then I got a knock at the door, I got up to see who it was because I knew you were having a guys night in with Sirius and then all I saw the guy in black and the door got busted in. I just ran to the kitchen and got the biggest knife I had.'

James turned to an officer who was standing watch over them, 'what the hell happened? How the hell did someone break down her door?' he asked of the man.

The officer motioned to a large metal pipe lying next to what remained of her entrance. 'Looks as though they applied small charges to the hinges and lock, then had them exploded just as they rammed the door.'

'They?'James asked, in reference to the plural.

The officer nodded, 'three men in all, all in black, no identification on them. Your girlfriend managed to take all three out before calling us in. When we got here they were all hogtied with cable ties and wriggling on the floor like goldfish out of the tank. Probably the most interesting end to a home invasion we've seen.' The officer looked at Lily impressed, 'know anyone with training?' he asked.

Lily nodded, 'My dad was in the army, he died in the Falkland's War in '82, but he taught me some self-defence stuff as a kid and teenager; he always told me that women living alone should know how to defend themselves against a home invasion.'

The officer nodded his understanding and turned back to James, 'all three are in custody, all of them talking too, saying they're just small time thieves who pull off B and E's for jewellery, cash and electronics to sell.'

'What happens now?' James pressed.

'Well, I don't suggest she stay here tonight, we can secure the flat, but the earliest we can help you organise a full repair is tomorrow morning.' The officer turned to Lily, 'Miss Martin I suggest you gather your valuables and spend the night elsewhere.'

Lily nodded and turned to look at James, 'I know I crashed your football night with Sirius, can I be even ruder and crash at yours?' James grinned and nodded.

'Wouldn't have you stay anywhere else Lils.'

0-0-0-0

The football game had finished by the time they got back to James', Sirius having agreed to make the double trip to save time. Even then, all three of them collapsed on James' leather couch, Lily in between the two men as they watched the game highlights. James' arm was wrapped around her shoulders, dragging her into his side. Sirius watched the two out of the corner of his eye. Two better natural agents he had not seen, and even though they were obviously crossing a line in terms of in undercover relationships, having been briefed by Dumbledore and Remus about their mission the previous afternoon, crossing that generally sacred line had probably saved their lives. Although a year older than both James and Lily, Sirius felt right at home with them. James he had known for a long time, and even though he'd only met Lily a handful of times, her easy-going, calm nature made her very easy to be around. Sirius was reminded of his real-life girlfriend back home, Mary McDonald who possessed that same easy going, affable personality and whom he wouldn't be able to see for a week and a half if all went as planned.

The highlight reel for the football finished, the commentators signing off and Sirius decided it was time to head back to his flat and leave the two love birds alone. Lily had fallen asleep where she was, and James' eyelids drooped as well. Sirius whispered his farewells, and left the apartment, turning back to close the door and seeing James wrap himself further around Lily, getting into a more comfortable spot on the couch, not letting her move even an inch away. Grinning slightly he let the door click closed, he would report to his contact and handler, Frank Longbottom in the morning about the events of the evening, including the conclusion of the office betting pool on the two of them.

0-0-0-0

Both awake again sometime near midnight, Lily and James moved from the couch to the bed, not bothering to change into pyjamas. When morning came for them, they slept on, Lily feeling safe in his arms, James covering her protectively in his sleep. It was nearer to lunchtime when they got up, both yawning and stretching. James finally got to see Lily in the daylight, and noticed a small bruise on her jaw that he hadn't seen the day before. Tilting her face upwards so he could see it, he felt her wince and move her jaw from side to side.

'It's nothing,' she muttered, 'one of the intruders landed a punch, that's all.'

James tilted her chin back down so he could look her in the eyes, 'You could have been assaulted much worse.'

'But I wasn't!' she exclaimed, twisting her chin out of his grip, 'My dad taught me how to deal with attackers, I've got pepper spray bottles hidden in my apartment, I know how to fire a gun and I know how to tie someone up.'

'I'm not saying you can't defend yourself!' he shot back, 'I'm saying that the training your dad gave you probably saved your life!'

Lily tucked her chin into her chest, ashamed for her outbursts for the second day in a row. Sensing her unease, James wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him.

'Sorry,' she muttered eventually, 'I'm still a little freaked out over it all, it happened so fast it hasn't really sunken in yet.'

'It's alright,' he murmured back, 'the shock is natural, best thing for it is a hot shower.'

Smirking at him, she reached behind her back to grasp his hands, 'only if you join me.'

0-0-0-0

For the second time in as many days, Tom Riddle demanded that Lily Martin's video feed be brought to the big screen. Her apartment was currently abandoned, the detectives having overseen the replacement of the front door and leaving once they had collected all the evidence they required. What he was most interested in was the recording of the attack from the few hours before. The man at the computer rewound her tape a few minutes too far, and so the two men watched as she stirred honey and olive oil together in the kitchen before directly applying it to her hair. The man at the computer had a odd look on his face, obviously new to the ways of what lengths women went to improve how they looked. She danced about the kitchen as she put the cheese and meats on her pizza base, putting it into the oven before answering the knock at the door.

Switching over video feed as she left the view of the kitchen camera, the man pulled up the view of the porch, where Lily leant towards the peephole and then moments later raced back to the kitchen as the door exploded off its hinges. Within seconds she had taken down the man who entered first, throwing a punch directly to his solar plexus, followed closely by a groin hit; both Tom and the computer man winced as her foot made contact. The two other men stood in shock as their pal was incapacitated by the tiny woman, their moment of inaction gave the red-headed woman time to deliver swift punches to them both, the first hit knocking the second man out cold, the third one getting a lucky punch in before she dropped him with another groin kick. The two men who carried guns were quickly relieved of them as she picked them up and threw them into the kitchen.

Next, ensuring all men were down momentarily, she raced back to the kitchen, opening a draw underneath the sink, she pulled out long black plastic cable ties, tying up the man she took down last as he was the most active.

Tom continued to watch as Lily hogtied all three invaders, then had the presence of mind to call for the police straight away as well as remembering to turn off the oven.

The few minutes that passed, waiting for the police to arrive left Lily sitting at her kitchen counter, keeping a watchful eye on the tied up men as they regained consciousness and use of their bodies. Tom was impressed by her ability to keep a level head in a crisis; her calm attitude as well as her fighting skills for once did not remind him of a Phoenix agent, but that of a valuable asset to the DE.

Tom pondered over the name for the group that collected new recruits, "The DE"; it had such a mysterious connotation to it as he hadn't revealed what the letters stood for. Some of the more bloodthirsty ones had nicknamed it the "Death to Everyone" group, and they weren't too far off the mark.

Having spent some of his exile living in Romani gypsy camps, he had picked up some of their dialect, verbal communication was vital, as the spoken word was used far more than the written, In truth, the "DE" really just stood for what Tom was, _Deghizate E__nglezului__, _the Disguised Englishman. After he and his family were exiled for treason, Tom knew it would take a lot to exact his revenge. Nobody in the initiate group knew what had happened all those years ago, and after giving his father the mercy he deserved, he cleansed his father's criminal empire, wiping out all the men and women whom he didn't fully trust. Now he had come back, hidden from the government, ready to finish what his father had started, only to find rats in his nest when he had barely begun.

Hence the false trail he had concocted, making up an elaborate false step with the complicated government takeover, he knew that the spies Dumbledore had sent in would relay the information back to their master; heightening security where it was unnecessary.

In truth Tom's plan was much simpler than that. On the 11th of June, when the civilians hit the election booths, the entire government would be holed up in separate compartments of the Palace of Westminster. He was simply going to blow them all up.

0-0-0-0

Much of Lily's Saturday was spent at the police station, providing her official statement to the police for their investigation. By the time she escaped their questioning it was lunchtime and she was starving for food.

James offered to make her something to eat at her place and she nodded, glad to not have to go to her place alone, she wasn't convinced there wasn't an elaborate set-up by someone, either Tom Riddle or Dumbledore wanted to get her out of her apartment and neither she or James knew why. James was convinced it was simply bad luck, the intruders picking the wrong house on the wrong night. Lily was understandably unsettled and unconvinced, the timing was too perfect.

The cooked pizza was still in the oven, Lily never having the chance to eat it the day before. and Lily decided it was still good enough to reheat and have for lunch. Even after sleeping in each others' arms again the previous night, and spending all free moments together during the day, she wasn't sick of spending time with him and was definitely glad to not be in her flat alone. Getting up from the kitchen counter, she cuddled up to him as he washed up the few dishes in the sink. Pausing from his work, James dried his hands on his jeans before putting his hands over hers to keep them in place. She sighed into his back, her warm breath warming his shirt and his spine. He flexed his shoulder blades back and forth; the movement against her forehead made her poke his sides with her fingers. Removing his hands from hers, he stuck his hands back into the foamy water, withdrew two handfuls of the soap bubbles. Turning around quickly in her grasp, he rubbed both handfuls into her hair, making her squeal in surprise.

In retaliation, she grabbed the sponge, soaked full with water and smashed it directly into his face. A water fight ensued, towel whipping and handfuls of water thrown about the kitchen until there was nothing left in the sink. The finished their fight when the timer for the oven trilled, both of them waving the wet patches of their shirts away from their skin as James pulled the now hot pizza from the oven.

They ate half each off the wooden chopping board, sitting in the puddles on the floor of the kitchen. Lily got them glasses of orange juice from the fridge and set the cups on the linoleum floor between them. After they finished eating, Lily rested her head on James' shoulder, glad for his warm presence. Moving the empty cups away from the space between them, he shuffled closer to her and snaked his right arm around her waist, his left hand capturing her free hands and holding them tightly as they sat there, both soaking wet still.

'Thank you for being here for me,' she looked at him earnestly, 'I really don't know how I would have coped with the past week if I didn't have you by my side.'

'Same goes for you my ginger ninja,' James replied, 'I can't tell you how relieved I was to see you safe yesterday night.'

'I wish you could have met my dad,' Lily said sadly, thinking to her real-life father who died in a car accident eight years prior alongside her mother. 'I think you two would have gotten along.'

* * *

**Next time:**

****_He'd pretty much already seen her at her worst anyways so it could only get better from there._


	11. Going To Observe

**Deliverance. Disorder. Descent.**

IAuthor note – the busy life of a uni student who is attempting to up her grade average is basically my life right now. To be fair though, I love writing FF more than I like writing essays and analysing picture books and their uses in the primary classroom... so here's chapter 11, slow in the making, slow in the updates and unfortunately I wont be able to update again until next week...

Please read and **REVIEW. **(the review issue is just going to become more prevalent until you guys realise that if you review I'm more likely to update faster because I know there's active interest in this story...)

_for the one who is gonna send me bubble wrap because i'm accident prone._

* * *

The Saturday passed in a blur, with Sunday evening coming too fast. The Saturday evening DE meeting, passed as all the other previous weeks had, proclamations of grandeur and the need for change in the country coming from Tom Riddle; more recruits were welcomed as there had been more information evenings during the week. Lily's eyes were continually drawn to the door behind Tom's chair. All she thought through the entire evening meeting was how brutal and ruthless Tom Riddle truthfully was; how lucky she was to be alive, how lucky she was to have a partner like James; how right Dumbledore had been, but also how blind he had been to the full risk of the Op he had sent them both into.

Giving up on the notion of sleeping apart from each other, Lily packed a weekend bag with clothes and stayed at James' for the night. Curled up in his chest, Lily was lulled to sleep by his calm, deep and even breathing. It was early in the morning when she awoke, the sounds of the night glaringly loud in the quiet stillness of the room. James slept on as she traced his jaw and face gently with the tops of her fingers. He didn't stir as her hands trailed down his torso and back up along his arms. He did wake however when her lips met his and her arms snaked around the back of his neck and head to pull him closer to her.

She never realised just how easy it could be to be with James. All the previous times he'd asked her out, seemingly jokingly, she'd always firmly turned him down. Now she considered how easy their friendship had become something more in such a short space of time. Being with him, genuinely being with him was something she enjoyed, it was organic and real and she never felt as though she had to be anything other than her usual self. He'd pretty much already seen her at her worst anyways so it could only get better from there. In truth, he'd already seen her stuff her face, he'd seen her throw up several times now and he'd seen her when she had morning breath with her hair messed up and oily from sleep.

To be fair though, his morning breath wasn't much better, so they were equally matched.

As they kissed deeper and more heatedly, James rolled so she was angled over him, her body splayed across his. They didn't remove any clothing; they were both too exhausted to do so, and they had virtually all morning to do anything they pleased. It was either minutes, or hours later that she collapsed on his chest, out of breath, and sleep beckoning again. James wrapped his arms firmly around her back, and trapped her on top of him. Nuzzling into her hair, he surrendered back to sleep, closing his eyes and keeping her close to him as they drifted back into unconsciousness.

When the sun truly came for them, they were still wrapped up in each other, Lily still draped along his torso and James snoring softly. Monday mornings were always the worst, previously it meant that Lily and James got up, like all other hard-working civilians, and went to work for six-hours. Now it meant they had to be apart for those six hours. In their current situation, both in terms of their safety and their relationship, those six hours were torture.

Even though they were a part of Phoenix and undercover as civilians, they were in such high-risk positions with their affiliation with the DE. It made them easy targets for Riddle's henchmen, with their homes under extreme surveillance; they could literally be exposed with a single word said in earshot of a microphone. Anything that needed to be said was always left for when they were walking to work, but even the smallest of slip ups could get them both killed.

Eventually caving to the pressing needs of their bladders and the necessity of going to work, they got up and readied themselves for the day ahead.

0-0-0-0

**May 27****th****, 1989 **

With only a fortnight to go until the election, Tom Riddle was certain that everything was set. The false trail had been laid so spectacularly, he was sure everyone would be fooled. With only a handful of people in the know that there wasn't going to be a series of political assassinations, but rather that all of them would meet a rather explosive end all at once, Tom knew his plan would go off without a hitch.

As he sat in his office, virtually next door to the meeting rooms in which the weekly DE meetings were held, he perused a list of those who were part of the inner sanctum; his most trusted new recruits. Lily and James were on the list, alongside the Malfoy couple and a couple of particularly vicious anti-government hippies, Bella and Rudolf Lestrange, both of them sporting long black dreadlocks and long flowing tunics. A few others included disgraced ex-cops and disgruntled ex-backbenchers who had access to security measures and the like.

With a meeting planned for the evening, he sat back and prepared the dialogue for the last public meeting, knowing that his meeting with the smaller group of members who knew the true plan would occur in just over an hour's time. Alongside the names of the list of members in the trusted cohort, he had a list of their strengths and the plans he had in store for them.

He sighed, two of the names near the top had such great potential, but every plan needed its linchpin and in the same way, every bomb needed a detonator.

0-0-0-0

As the small group entered the chamber, Tom watched the group from his seat at the head of the table. The Malfoy couple were discussing their son's issues with bullies at school, the hippy couple, Bella and Rudolf were animatedly describing to ex-backbencher Frederick McNair an unusual fruit they once ate on holiday when they took a month's holiday in Jamaica. Lily and James were hand in hand, as they had been for months now. Something about Lily seemed a little off, her general good nature was still there, but beneath the surface she looked pained, as though there was something bothering her.

Pushing that minor detail to the side, he began his meeting, going to each member in-turn and outlining the uses each of them had, and how much each of them had contributed to the success of the true plan.

'Narcissa and Lucius,' he began when he got to the Malfoy couple, 'your influence among your friends is invaluable; their support is appreciated in these difficult times and we are eternally grateful for you having put them into contact with us.'

In truth, he had used the gossip-mongering among their social group to extort over a million pounds in blackmail, from extra-marital affairs to tax evasion to little details about personal lives that these people didn't want in the public domain. To everyone else in the group, they were simply powerful, rich investors who backed his movement.

Turning to the young couple, still clasping each other's hand, he started with Lily,

'You have a way with words that has made you an incredible gift for our propaganda department. Your friendly nature draws people to you, your fighting spirit makes you a fearsome woman, and one I would hesitate before agreeing to spar with, either with words or weapons.'

He turned his attention from the shocked woman to the man next to her, 'James I was never sure what you as a mere barista could offer to our movement, such an ordinary profession. Then I realised that's just what we need. You're an ordinary, working class man. It's men and women like you who are the backbone of our nation, and your support is invaluable and incalculable. You, in turn will show the greater population just who the right person to follow is. You are tearing down the hierarchy of pocket-lining corrupt politicians one cup of coffee at a time.'

He turned from the couple and continued down the table, congratulating them each individually on the talents they brought to the table. When he finished complimenting them, he talked for a little while about the necessary misdirection that he had used with the two group meetings, and then excused the group until the meeting later in the evening. As was the custom, a coffee machine and one his most trusted henchmen was out in the foyer, intent on listening into any conversations had by group members after the meetings.

0-0-0-0

Often after the meetings, the men would converge in a group to discuss sports or cars; the few women either standing by their men, or discussing the things women like to talk about in their own small group.

The men wanted to talk about the final in football from the previous evening, where Liverpool lost to Arsenal two-nil. The talk was mostly of Thomas' last minute goal and how no one had really expected Arsenal to win. Talk also went to the Hillsborough disaster just over a month prior, where nearly a hundred people were killed in a pre-match scuffle where many football fans were crushed to death. Being the only women who stayed for drinks, with Bella and her husband excusing themselves so they could engage in their daily afternoon meditation session, Lily and Narcissa made their way to two sofas on the opposite side of the room.

Lily still felt unwell, as she had done for a day or two now; and Narcissa had noticed she woman's slightly green pallor.

'Whatever is wrong with you dearie?' she asked concerned.

'Just been under the weather for a couple days; it's probably just food poisoning or something.' Lily waved it off, but the look on her face didn't leave.

Narcissa gave the younger woman a look, 'but it's not food poisoning is it?' she gave a small secret smile. 'I know when it was early days with my boy I was unwell for days on end.'

'How could you tell? I haven't even told James yet.' She whispered

'I'm a fellow woman, and a mother; there are some things we women know that men are clueless about. Pregnancy and childbearing top that list; you are virtually doing the exact same things I was doing before I told Lucius. I saw that little stomach pat before, you're green about the gills and you have this little look you keep giving him.'

Lily looked adamantly at her tea cup, not meeting the older woman's eye. 'I found out the day before yesterday, I started feeling off about a fortnight ago, but I didn't think anything of it; but then other things happened, or rather didn't happen and that's when I realised.'

'How far along do you think you are?' she asked, seeking out Lily's eyes.

'Well...' she paused, taking a moment to peek over where James was talking animatedly with a few of the men, 'I completely forgot about my time of the month, so I'm leaning towards about seven or eight weeks now that I remember I've missed two, not one.'

'How do you feel about it?'

'Half terrified, half excited.' She offered quietly, taking a long sip of her hot drink.

'Go on,' Narcissa encouraged, 'tell me more.'

'James and I already talked about the possibility of having kids someday,' she burst out quietly, 'but that "someday" was something we were expecting to be many months or years away, not three months into our relationship. I guess I'm mostly nervous about what he's going to think. Then on the other hand I'm excited because being a parent is something that throws is something that throws out all the rule books and makes you have to start from scratch. And whatever gender I end up having will be half James, and I just... I just know they're going to be so amazing, I just can't wait to be able to hold that little bundle that's both of us.'

Narcissa smiled at Lily as she tried to organise her thoughts, her face a mess of emotion.

'I think that James is going to be chuffed, no matter how badly the timing. It's clear that he loves you Lily; a blind man could see that he loves you. A child is quite easily looked after and even easier to love. Have no worry on that front. When I first found I was pregnant with my boy Draco, Lucius originally wasn't happy at all; we wanted to travel for a few more years, but now we have a rambunctious seven-year-old who found a love for skiing in the Swiss alps, eating chocolate croissants in the morning with us when we're all on our holidays and baffling us both with his superior grasp of French.'

Lily smiled as Narcissa spoke fondly of her son, 'Draco sounds like wonderful son, and you must love him so much.'

'He's my world; any child you have becomes the centre of your universe when you get to hold them for the first time.' Narcissa replied wistfully. 'When the midwife had wrapped him up, she handed him to me and the second I felt his weight, looked at his tiny little face and heard his mewling scream I knew that I would freely give my life for him. The same will go for you when you get to meet your little one.'

Both women smiled at each other as they sipped their tea in silence, both glancing at the respective fathers of their children.

0-0-0-0

Tom never realised his eyebrows could rise so high. He knew the cameras and microphones would sometimes pick up an unexpected detail, but the revelation of a pregnancy was something he hadn't ever dealt with before. It didn't change his plans in any way; it simply put an extra consideration into play.

Dismissing the man from his desk, Tom sat in the seat just vacated and began to take a few notes, maintaining his watch over the men and women on the screens in front of him. The two women continued to talk of children and pregnancy, the men still discussing the recent football tragedy.

"_Alter roles of LM & JH,_" he wrote on a notepad in front of him, "_put them both into final stage."_

He wrote a few other notes, looking at the faces before him and knowing where their strengths and weaknesses lay. His ultimate plan meant that they were all naught but pawns to him, but in the game of chess, even a well-placed pawn can turn the tide of the game.

0-0-0-0

Quelling the rising nausea as they walked home, Lily pondered just how she was going to tell James that they were indeed going to be parents, even though they'd only been together a few short months. Lily didn't bother to conceal her concern, even if James noticed something was off, she knew that in a short while something would be off with him too. She pondered the words she would use, the manner in which she would speak and how she would deal with any number of reactions he might have.

Entering her small apartment, they removed coats and shoes, James quickly finding her face with his hands and pulled her in for a kiss. She revelled in his touch, his warmth, and the passion in which he held her close and deepened the kisses. Their "I love you"s came easily as they pulled apart and simply stood in each other's arms in the entrance way. Rather than shatter the peaceful moment with her confession, she simply kept quiet and enjoyed the feeling of his arms against her back, his breath against her temple and the shadow of stubble brushing against her cheek and neck.

She loved the small private moments like that that they shared together, where it wasn't about talking, it wasn't about the final days of their mission, it wasn't about keeping their covers; it was just the two of them, being together.

However she knew she had to tell him about the pregnancy, and soon. Pulling on his hand, she directed him to the couch, pushing him to sit in the spot that had become his. She rubbed her hands together gently, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do.

'I'm pregnant.' She ended up blurting out, disregarding all her previous thoughts and planned speeches.

He looked at her, unblinkingly for a moment or two before replying, 'What?'

'I'm pregnant.' She repeated, pausing after each word so they sank in, 'I'm really, actually, legitimately pregnant with your child.'

He leant forwards on the couch towards her, 'b-but how?' he stuttered.

She had to grin at that, relieved he hadn't gotten mad, 'oh James, if I'm going to have to explain _how_ it happened...' she trailed off, 'Besides it's not like we really ever bothered using protection and I've never used birth control medication.'

He blinked a few times more, his expression stunned, but a half-smile gracing his face. Grabbing the parts of her he could reach, her legs, he pulled her towards him and placed a palm on her lower abdomen.

'We're having a baby?'

'We're having a baby.'

'How far along are you?' he asked, his eyes practically glued to her stomach.

'Not very far, two months at most.'

He looked up at her, his gaze no longer stunned, instead he had a bright smile and he wrapped one arm around her leg with the other hand not moving from its place on her stomach.

'I love you.' He breathed.

She cupped his face in her hands, leaning down to capture his lips with hers quickly, 'I love you too.'

0-0-0-0

* * *

**Next time: **

_Dumbledore looked at them sternly, 'You both know by now just how dangerous this mission is, if there is any sign of things going south, we're coming in and pulling you out.'_


	12. Going To Expose

**Deliverance. Disorder. Descent.**

Author note – YAY an update! this one was mostly smashed out tonight because i'm procrastinating on a 53 page reading on "representation and interaction: designing the position of the viewer" (basically how the book/illustrations affect how you [the reader] interpret the meaning of the text/image Zzzzz). I'm at page 14 and have 24 hours to get through it, so it's all good :)

Please read and **REVIEW. **(more reviews = more active interest from readers = I update faster)

_for the friend who once sent me this: "So today at work I was scrubbing the dolphin docks and scratched myself. The sharks smelled blood and came and took my arm off: future true story.".  
_

* * *

**May 28****th****, 1989**

Sunday morning was spent curled up on the sofa together, listening to the smatter of rain as it fell against the windows. They had a meeting with Dumbledore and Remus the next afternoon in the backroom of the cafe at James' work. Lily would have an additional admission to make to her boss, her pregnancy would not likely change their mission detail, but it would perhaps have Dumbledore on a higher alert, with a higher regard for their safety.

Usually on missions agents accepted the fact that their life was secondary to that of the successful completion of their mission, usually as bodyguards to the at-risk politicians. It had been a long time since any agent had been killed in the line of fire and Lily was hopeful that their death-free reputation would not end with her or James. Being pregnant however made Lily think of how suddenly her life most certainly not her own anymore. She had a duty to not only complete the undercover mission, but to keep herself alive and healthy to keep her baby healthy.

Their afternoon led them to take a bus into London's CBD area and walked aimlessly about town until the rain started again and forced them to seek shelter from the torrential downpour in a cafe. Buying treacle tarts and hot drinks for them both James directed her to an empty booth off to the side of the counter. There they talked quietly of what the addition to their lives would mean. It was clear to the waitress, who delivered their drinks and treacle tarts to them, that the couple was clearly and madly in love, they way they sat facing each other and the look in their eyes belied their affection for the other.

'Boy or girl?' James asked after a particularly large mouthful of tart.

'It's way too early to tell yet, it'll be another couple of months before any ultrasound will be able to tell anything, I'll make an appointment for this week, but it'll really just look like a little blip on the radar.' She replied before taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

'What about names?'

'Bit early to think of that isn't it?'

'Never! We could pick some now, boy names, girl names, unisex names and at least have some idea of the ones we like by the time baby comes out.'

'Alright, let's start with girl names, I think we should name a girl Lily junior.'

'We are not naming a baby after ourselves.'

'Fine, what about Marlene or Irene of Mary or Rose?'

'I like Rose, my mum was a little bit of a hippy in her youth and named me after her favourite flower, roses are mine.'

'Duly noted for all future special occasions and that's a girl's name sorted. What about unisex names, Andy is definitely out as is Madison and Lindsey; if we pick a unisex name I want it to be something unique and non-embarrassing for the poor kid.'

'So if we give our kid a unisex name it has to be something like Kumara or Elvendork or East-West or something?'

James laughed at her names, 'Firstly Kumara is another name for sweet potato, but sure that can go on the list, as can the use of compass directions and names of countries, but c'mon, "Elvendork"?'

'What? It could totally be a unisex name.'

James shook his head at her, 'Alright, fine Elvendork is in. Boys names next.'

'What about your dad's name?'

'Harold? Nah, it's a bit outdated, what about your dad?'

'Larry, but I don't want to call a son that. We could always find a happy medium though; mix the two names together or something.'

'Larold?'

'No,' a gleam appeared in Lily's eyes as she thought of a name, 'Harry.'

0-0-0-0

**May 29****th****, 1989**

Monday, like all the ones before it undercover, passed in a day of mindless coffee making, writing articles and the blur of faces. When afternoon came James kept glancing out the window, hoping that every passing face was the one he was looking for. Knowing that Dumbledore would be in the back room soon, ready for the penultimate meeting before the election, he wanted Lily by his side as soon as possible. In the next fortnight the whole operation was expected to be blown so far out of the water it would probably create its own continent and become the new USA.

He also wanted to see the look on Dumbledore's face when Lily told him that she was having a baby, conceived during the last half of their 6 month undercover mission. He also wanted Lily by his side as protection when Dumbledore berated them for how irresponsible they had been.

He thought back to Saturday, when Riddle had complimented each of the inner-circle members on their attributes that made them strong supports for his vision. Complimenting them all on their positives didn't make a lot of sense, all current evidence suggested that he was planning to blow up the Palace of Westminster, what did he need them for?

The implications of having a variety of nondescript civilians believing that they were doing the right thing did not comfort him at all, it did the opposite. He just hoped they all got out of it alive.

0-0-0-0

Lily went to the same confectionary store she did a couple months prior and bought a half dozen of their mini treacle tarts. She wasn't sure if it was pregnancy cravings kicking in already, but she found herself wanting to eat them all before she reached James' work. Resisting the urge, she put the paper bag into her satchel and continued on to see James.

She arrived at the cafe, the last customer of the day holding the door for Lily as she entered. Thanking the man, she leant over the counter to kiss James on the cheek as he wiped down the surface. Petunia came over from the sandwich bar to pull Lily into a hug.

'James told me about your expected addition this morning, many congratulations!' she said into Lily's hair, 'you're going to make a fantastic mother.'

Lily thanked the older woman as she was released, Lily found herself wrapped in a second embrace as James had snuck out from behind the counter as she was being hugged by Petunia. James kissed her neck, as she leant back into his torso.

'I'll leave you two to lock up this afternoon, Vernon and I are due to go see our son in his high school boxing tournament this afternoon and I want to stop by the greengrocer beforehand to pick up a few things for tea.' Petunia said as she prepared to leave.

'Good luck to Dudley,' James directed at her as she put on her cardigan, 'this is his, what, fourth tournament this year?'

Petunia nodded, 'Won the junior heavyweight title for the three most recent ones, and nearly won the first meet this year, but just missed out, we're hoping to make win number four today!' she paused for a moment to fix the strap on her handbag, 'oh, and Albus is in the backroom, I let him a minute or two ago, and the guy who is sitting across the park on that bench by the bin followed you here Lily, so if I were either of you, I'd keep an eye out this afternoon.'

James and Lily nodded, closing the door after the woman hurried out the door.

She took a quick glance in the direction Petunia mentioned to see a man in a long black coat, somewhat unusual attire for spring, seated on the aforementioned bench, calmly eating out of a brown paper bag, identical to the one she had in her satchel, the one with the treacle tarts in them.

Looking away, she found her hand encompassed in James' warm one. Gripping it tight for comfort, she looked up at him, 'ready to walk to our doom?' she asked quietly.

The corners of James' mouth lifted noticeably, 'I'm ready if you are.'

'Ready to face a den filled with the one wolf in the world that scares me? Never.'

0-0-0-0

Their admission to Dumbledore granted them a facial expression they had not seen grace their boss' features in a long time – surprise. Luckily for them, he wasn't angry, instead being empathetic to their situation and understanding of the complexity of the events surrounding it.

'How do we proceed?' James asked when the topic of Lily's pregnancy reached its completion.

'We proceed as normal, however now we have three people to consider into our safety precautions.' Dumbledore looked at them sternly, 'You both know by now just how dangerous this mission is, if there is any sign of things going south, we're coming in and pulling you out.'

Both Lily and James nodded their understanding, Lily subconsciously placing a hand over her lower abdomen. She could feel a small bump just below her bellybutton if she lay down on her back and tightened her diaphragm; otherwise she wasn't showing signs of being pregnant yet.

Dumbledore glanced over to Lily, his expression softening as he took her in. 'When are you due Lily?'

'January tenth, or thereabouts. The midwife I've got has said I'm currently at seven and a half weeks, near enough to say two months.'

'What do you two plan to do, in terms of personal relationships? You know Phoenix policies don't exactly encourage internal relationships.'

'I'm not leaving her.' James announced.

'I'm not leaving him.' Lily echoed.

Dumbledore closed his eyes and took in a breath as he did a silent, single laugh, 'no, I didn't imagine either of you would. We can always worry about the fine print later, but now you have just a fortnight to figure out the finer points of Riddle's plan. We know by now he intends to place a bomb somewhere, and he intends to do it somewhere either in, or near Westminster. What we don't know is the exact location, the type of bomb and the area and level of damage we need to prepare for in the worst case scenario.'

'What if we don't get any Intel until it's time to take action?' James asked

'Come Election Day, we will have agents placed at strategic points; they will either radio your coordinates in, confer with you in a manner that won't expose you or they will provide you with opportunities to communicate with us in any way that we can.'

'What about this worst case scenario, what if this bomb is nuclear and obliterates the entire city?'

'We don't have enough information to evacuate anyone involved in the election. Marge won't allow it either, she doesn't want to create wide-spread panic when the panic could be one option Riddle is hoping for and counting on. At any rate, we have evacuated the royal family and any visiting foreign dignitaries. The heads of our Commonwealth have also been put on alert, in case there have been any forms of aggression directed towards them alongside the one shown to us.'

Dumbledore sighed, rubbing his brow and glancing at a silent Remus before continuing, 'Worst case scenario, truthfully, will mean all our deaths, mine included. If there is a detonation of an incendiary device in the Palace of Westminster and it contains nuclear material, then the resulting fallout will infect millions of people, and not just have the short-term effects of killing those in the immediate vicinity. Worst case scenario is failing, and we cannot allow that to happen. Too many lives are at risk.'

0-0-0-0

The walk to James' apartment was sombre. Neither of them felt like talking, but they had to keep up the pretence of a happy couple as the man from before was still tailing them at a considerable distance. Holding onto James' hand tightly, she nudged his shoulder and mentioned she bought them both some treacle tarts for dessert. He smiled at her, his eyes lightening up in response.

'I nearly ate them all too. I bought more than I usually would because they looked so good.'

'Pregnancy cravings kicking in already?' he laughed.

'That is a possibility, but it could be that I've grown to like them too.'

'Well I like them, and if I've gotten you into them, what are the chances we'll have a treacle-tart-hating baby?'

'Absolutely none, this baby would probably live on them.'

'Is that even remotely healthy?'

'Nope.'

0-0-0-0

Their evening was once more spent lying on the couch together after finishing their dinner and dessert. Lily's head was in his lap, her shirt drawn up exposing her stomach as James' fingers traced mindless circles on her abdomen.

'You scared about becoming a parent?' he asked her.

'A bit; I guess it's more because I have no clue what to do with children more than anything. But I've got you by my side, so that makes it better.'

'We can do it, we've survived years of being friends, you've survived being my girlfriend for four months, I've survived your crazy food rages for ages; I think a baby will hardly throw a spanner into the works.'

'Wait-what do you mean my "crazy food rages"?' she asked as she processed his statement.

'You know that time we had an eating competition in McDonalds and you ate more than I did, then there was Easter last month where you literally started a stampede the Monday morning to get to the on-sale chocolate because you managed to finish your stash on Easter Sunday. Every so often you go on one of these food rages where you just about eat everything you can get your hands on. It's kind of scary, but mostly adorable to watch you as you completely unravel because you're craving food.'

'You are awful.' She cried, socking him in the arm for his comments, 'you can't make fun of a woman's eating habits, especially one who is pregnant!'

'Why not? At least you're a sensible woman who _does_ eat! I remember overhearing a couple girls in high school with my mate Sam, they were banging on about how they would eat their dinner so their parents wouldn't get suspicious, then later on when they were in the bathroom, they'd turn on the shower faucets to muffle the sound of them barfing it right back up; what kind of madness is that?!'

'Some girls do it to try to lose weight so they look good.' Lily explained with a shrug of her shoulders, 'one of the girls in my grade used to do it until she fainted in class and had to be taken to the hospital.'

'That is completely mental; why bother doing it? Most guys don't really like the look of stick thin chicks, and to know she's always barfing isn't exactly a turn-on.'

'Some people do it because it's something they can control; even if life is shitty, or they're being bullied at school, or they've just lost control over the rest of their lives. Controlling some portion of their daily lives probably gives them something to hope for, something to hold on to. I'm not saying it's a good thing, it's completely unhealthy and people with bulimia need help and support, but I can empathise with their struggle.'

James bowed down his head to kiss her forehead, 'See this is why I love you. You're smart, you're lovely, you're gorgeous, even when you've downed half a dozen McDonald's burgers.'

Lily grinned, lifting her hands and playing with his tousled hair, 'As long as you keep being that amazing guy that is pretty decent at football, makes great decaf coffees and keeps me warm at night, I'll keep being that crazy food loving, ginger ninja who is having your baby and is quite in love with you.'

0-0-0-0

* * *

**Next time:**

_'James I'm getting scared, and with my reduced bladder capacity, it does not make for a good combination.'_


	13. Going To Second Guess

**Deliverance. Disorder. Descent.**

Author note – Okay to respond to one query, YES this is an AU, so the prophecy that required Harry to be born at the end of July need not apply (so fear not, I will spoil one thing - baby in the womb will not die) and I'm about to be utterly swamped with my first round of assignments so I may not have time to update over the next 2.5 weeks.. but stick around AND _**REVIEW**_ (I'm going to keep stressing this until you get the idea.)

_for the friend who puts up with my crazy.  
_

* * *

**June 1****st****, 1989**

With the election looming just around the corner, the streets and newspapers were filled with the buzz of who might win, many people betting on a second win by Margaret Thatcher. As Riddle finetuned his plan for the big day, he ensured he was kept updated on the surveillance of the operatives that he had recruited over the past six-months. Truthfully they were all dispensable to him, merely shields and those to take the fall. He did have some sympathy for those with families, putting the Malfoy couple and a few others with children outside the immediate blast zone. Others, like the Lestrange couple, the individuals and the elderly were positioned close to Palace of Westminster. What threw a small spanner into the works was the revelation of Lily Martin's pregnancy. It was his original plan to have them both in the red zone, but having lost his own mother during childbirth meant he had a tinge of sympathy for those who had to grow up without their mothers.

Of course this child was not yet born and did not have to factor into his thinking; but he still was hesitant to throw her into the red zone like he originally planned. Glancing at the hourly report dropped onto his desk by one of his agents, he noticed that Lily had taken the day off work, citing morning sickness as the cause. According to the brief, she was currently wrapped up on her couch watching day-time television nibbling on chocolate. Likewise, the surveillance brief had James at his work, making drinks.

Looking over the papers strewn about his desk, he rubbed his chin as he contemplated the decisions he had yet to make.

Glancing over at his notepad, full of scribbles from his observations of the surveillance from the past fortnight, his eye was drawn to the one he had made a few days prior, to bring Lily and James into his final stage, where his true design for Election Day would unfold. Only a small handful of people knew his true plans, and he had considered inducting the two of them the afternoon in which he had exposed the two Phoenix agents, but something held him back from trusting them implicitly; there was something stopping him.

0-0-0-0

**2****nd**** June, 1989**

Having submitted her weekly article earlier in the day, Lily's boss, Kingsley Shacklebolt let her off as she was still feeling the nausea that had been crippling her for twenty-four hours already. Instead of heading home and watching more daily soap operas, she decided to head to James' work and spend the day with him.

As she was still feeling ill, she bypassed the confectionary store and headed straight to the cafe. James was out of sight as she entered the store, but she could hear him grumbling as he tried to clear a water inlet pipe to the coffee machine underneath the counter. The cafe was mostly empty as the lunch rush had not yet begun, but an older couple was ordering their custom sandwiches from Petunia at the booth over. Nodding her hello to Petunia, she walked silently up to the counter that concealed James from her and banged both fists heavily on the bench top. A loud thump came from underneath as James hit his head in surprise and he groaned in pain. Giggling, she had to hide her mouth as he emerged slowly from underneath the counter, his clothes soaked from the water pipe he was fixing, and a small bump emerging on his forehead.

'Not even funny Lily.' He said as he rubbed the lump on his head, 'I've been trying to fix this damn tube for twenty minutes and you walk in and give me a concussion.'

'Oh please, it's hardly a bump!' Lily joked in reply, leaning over the counter towards him, 'I can barely see it and there's no blood. Besides, the lump I've given you is nothing in comparison to the bump I'll end up getting because of you.'

James snickered and leant over the counter to give her a kiss, fully ignoring the couple to his left who were watching them shamelessly. 'Fine, you win, I'll stop sooking about my head injury. How's the morning sickness? Despite the fact it's not even morning and you've been crook for the past day.'

'Awful,' she moaned, wishing the bench between them would disappear, 'Kingsley gave me the rest of the day off and all I want to do is not feel sick.' She sat down on one of the bar stools that faced the window and spun it around to face James again. 'Since I have the rest of the day off, and I've nothing planned and nothing to do really, I figured I could either annoy you at work or you could teach me how to make decent coffees.'

James raised his eyebrows slightly, 'you do realise you can't drink coffee now, right?'

'I know I can't drink it, but I've been feeling better ever since I stepped into the cafe and I think it's the smell of the coffee. If I leave and get sick again then it'll be partially your fault for not indulging my newfound love of the smell of freshly roasted coffee beans.'

Rolling his eyes, he replied, 'I still have to fix the water pipe to the machine, hopefully before the lunch exodus, so you can either sit there and look gorgeous or... sit there and look gorgeous.'

'Want me to see if I can fix it?' she asked.

'No, no, definitely not, my pride has already been wounded by you once today with that smack-down on the counter think you did giving my face a lump it didn't need; if I get replaced by an alarmingly good looking woman who is having my baby you might as well stick me in a cryogenics tank until a use is found for me.'

'Aww,' she said, hiding her smirk, 'is itty-bitty Jamie-wamie feeling a bit unloved today?' she mocked playfully.

James glared at her before ducking out of sight again to continue fixing the coffee machine.

0-0-0-0

Lily felt her nausea leave her as she spent more time in the coffee smell filled cafe. She wasn't entirely sure if it was the comforting familiar smell or the closeness of James. She nibbled on a sandwich made for her by Petunia as she watched the lunch rush pass. Friday was clearly the least busy day of the week, but there was still a line of people for upwards of an hour.

The rush was over when mid-afternoon rolled around and the sun began to peek through the west-facing shop front. James had luckily managed to eventually fix the block in the water pipe, but not before he was soaked through twice over. Eventually he bowed to Lily's pleas to be allowed to come over and help and the two of them got it fixed just in time.

She also helped James and Petunia clean up before closing, putting cold meats and cheeses back into the back fridge, and helped to wipe the tables. For the first time all day she felt energised and useful, her nausea having passed completely. Walking home to James' flat, hand-in-hand with him, she couldn't help but feel the rising sensations that were consuming all of her thoughts. James asked her a couple of times what she was thinking of, but she shook her head and didn't say anything. What she was thinking wasn't something she could say to him, more what she could do with him; something not exactly deemed an acceptable thing to do in public.

She also took into consideration that both their apartments were still filled with microphones and the latest video transmitting technology, installed by Riddle's people for covert surveillance. She did not envy who had previously been on the other end of the surveillance equipment, and she did not envy who was on screen-watch that afternoon.

Because alongside with the nausea, the weight-gain and the food-cravings came along other hormone controlled cravings, and she fully intended to fulfil them.

0-0-0-0

**June 6****th****, 1989**

Lily sat in the waiting area of the maternity ward of the hospital, awaiting her turn for the ultrasound, she had gone to a quick scan the fortnight before to see if she really was pregnant, and wanted to have another scan before the Election Day, despite her next scan not being due for another three weeks.

She flipped through old magazines, part of her aching for the normalised life displayed in the pages, the stories sent in by mothers whose children or husbands had done something funny, the articles on tried and true cleaning methods for around the home and garden and the pages filled with the latest must-have fashion and accessories. Even though she loved her job, there was still that desire to be an average woman who wasn't facing a terrorist on weekly basis as it was her job to infiltrate his inner-sanctum to uncover his plans.

'Lily Martin?' came the voice of the midwife from the front desk, interrupting Lily from her thoughts.

'Yes, that's me.' She replied, standing up and twisting the strap of her satchel so it sat properly on her shoulder.

'Come through,' the lady smiled.

The scan showed that everything was progressing well and the midwife was satisfied with the baby's development. She enquired about the names she and James may have picked out for the baby, and laughed over their jokingly chosen unisex name, Elvendork.

'That is possibly the most magnificent unisex name I've heard for years! And I was a midwife during the sixties! Back then I had one woman expecting twins who planned to name them "Day" and "Night", and another one was going to call their child a mixture of the name's of the parents, I think her name was Darlene and his name was Ricardo or something, they wanted to mix their names together to make a name for their baby, so Darcardo or Rilene. Some of them get truly bizarre, it makes you wonder if the parents have any idea of what's in store for their children.'

'Well, I'm sure little Elvendork would fit right in Day, Night and Rilene.' Lily joked, 'the poor kid would probably stick out more if they had a common name.'

0-0-0-0

That evening, as Lily and James dined on take away, the power suddenly and inexplicably went out, leaving them both in the dark with only the dim lights coming from the streetlights three storeys below. Luckily Lily had prepared for such occasions, as she enjoyed the occasional candle-lit bath; she had tea lights and tall church candles strewn about her apartment.

Upon returning from lighting the candles in the bathroom, James was nowhere to be seen. Lily called out for him, but he didn't answer. When she had searched the whole flat looking for him, she returned to the living room to find it empty. She thought he had been jokingly hiding, but after she had called him several more times, she started to get concerned.

'James I'm getting scared,' she called out to the room, 'and with my reduced bladder capacity, it does not make for a good combination.'

A snicker came from behind the couch, the one place in the house she had neglected to check. Shaking her head in the direction of the couch, she turned to the kitchen and threw away their empty takeout containers in the bin.

'For that very mean stunt, you can jolly well sleep on the couch you're hiding behind.' She announced, not even turning around to address him. a small thump came from behind her and James snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder and swiftly kissing her cheek.

'Sure I can sleep on the couch, but I know neither of us would sleep properly.' He mumbled into her neck, 'I've gotten too used to sleeping with you and you know I keep you warm of a night time.'

'That and the fact I'm having your baby and those tummy rubs you give me put the baby to sleep so I don't have to deal with him or her doing somersaults and a mixture of karate and football all night.'

She could feel James' grin as he tucked his head further into her neck, his breath warming her ear, distracting her from drying their drink cups from dinner.

'Stop distracting me,' she whispered, 'I don't want to break a glass.'

'But candlelit evenings are so romantic,' he whispered back, 'aren't there more babies born about nine months after a major power outage than at any other time?'

'There's one flaw in your thinking there James – I'm already pregnant.'

'Fine, be that way. I was going to suggest we play scrabble or Monopoly or something to pass the time, plus it's Friday so neither of us have to get up early tomorrow for work.'

'There's a game of scrabble under the coffee table.'

'Hence why I mentioned it, I challenge you to a game.'

'Oh, you're on.'

0-0-0-0

Albus Dumbledore called an emergency meeting with his top most security officials. The heads of MI5, MI6 and MI7 and the 00 unit were all there to contribute to the meeting. He looked about the faces in the room, men and women who had already faced war, and were hardened enough to face another. They had all been previously briefed on the mission already underway, and were instructed by Margaret Thatcher to comply with any and all orders given by Albus.

With the announcement of Lily's pregnancy, the safety of his agents became more important than ever. Even though there was always a chance he could not succeed and his two most junior agents would not survive, he was determined to do his best.

The meeting ran for over an hour, discussion and debate abounded for the entirety of the time, it wasn't until Dumbledore reminded the other department heads that James and Lily had sacrificed the past six months of their real lives to live under deep covers to infiltrate Riddle's terrorist group that they all agreed that more measures needed to be in place to keep them safe, especially when Dumbledore showed them the footage of Charity and Severus' deaths.

Long after the screams had finished coming from the VHS tape, the men and women seated about the table looked a little ill at the utter lack of mercy and respect shown to Severus in his final forty-five minutes. They saw much more than Lily and James ever did, the convulsions, vomiting and his final moments, so pathetically weak that he could not even move to bat away the camera that had closed in on his face. After his final breath was taken, Albus shut off the VHS player and let everything sink in.

The room was so silent that every intake and exhalation of breath could be heard.

'This is what we risk my agents facing if they are exposed,' he said quietly, 'this is what they have been forced to witness in the past six months, gathering the Intel we need to stop Riddle before he can destroy our country. I expect full co-operation from you all over the next fortnight.'

Nods came from the people about the room, accepting the responsibility Dumbledore was putting on them.

0-0-0-0

**Next time:**

'_It's time to go,' he whispered harshly, 'if we don't get out of here now, we'll be obliterated.'_

_0-0-0-0_

**_please be a dear_**

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**_and my updates won't be as slow._**


	14. Going To Burn

**Deliverance. Disorder. Descent.**

Author note – so in honour of the announcement of Peter Capaldi being announced as the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor (mega whovian here) I'm posting this one up now so I can get on with my assignments and not have all these ideas for the next few chapters racing through my brain. enjoy! and _**REVIEW!**_

**_for the chick who's born on the same day the Hogwarts Express leaves Kings Cross.  
_**

* * *

**June 9****th****, 1989**

With a little over twenty-four hours to go until his grand plan unfolded, Tom Riddle junior found himself unable to sleep. He tried using the cold side of the pillow, rolling over to another side and even playing a cassette tape of the Romani gypsies singing that he once recorded. It didn't help though, and only made him more conscious of the fact he was nowhere near ready to sleep. Though it was only seven at night, he needed to be up early the next morning to oversee the placement of his bomb in the lower sewers underneath the house of parliament, hence the need to sleep, and his inability to.

Disregarding the attempt, he got back up, donned slippers and made his way to his private study. There he switched on a computer monitor and turned up the sound on his speakers. From his own flat, he was able to survey everyone under his command with a few keystrokes. He watched as Lily and James made dinner and as he twirled her around the kitchen to the music emanating from the television. Steepling his fingers, he watched her closely; how full of joy she seemed now she was expecting her own child. He tapped a few more keys on the keyboard, and suddenly a child's bedroom came into view. He watched unblinkingly as a little blonde boy in his pyjamas played with a set of dinosaurs, roaring as he made them attack each other.

Although he switched over to watch other people, he seemed to be drawn to both the Malfoy family and Lily and James. He did enjoy watching the Lestrange couple and their hippy friends get high on marijuana and whatever else they smoked; but they lacked the same familial vibe that came from the others. Switching over one more time to watch the small child play, he saw that Narcissa had come to the room to tuck him into bed. She wrapped his doona about him, and then read him a story about the Frog Prince and how he was rescued by a lovely princess. Finally, before she left her son to sleep, she sang him a short lullaby about how family members who were separated would find each other through that song.

As the last note of the lullaby came through the speakers, Tom realised what it was about the two families that drew him to them. They were _happy_. Happy to have each other, their loved ones and the kind of family they came from. Not once during his unhappy childhood had his father once made him feel loved. Even his mother, when she was alive, ever showed an ounce of warmth towards him. He was merely an addition to the family business to them both, another tool to educate and use as they desired.

He showed them both though, his mother died in a car accident shortly before their first take-over plan was foiled by Phoenix – no one ever knew, but he had tampered with the brakes in the car, know she planned to visit her father, the roads suitably iced over for a tragic event.

He felt no remorse then. She never loved him, even though she was her only child.

His father was next, although his ending was far less subtle and he got to watch the light leave his eyes. It was after their exile to Europe, before he hid in the Romani gypsy camps; they had been hiding out in an abandoned wing of the Petrodvoret, the old Peterhof Palace in Saint Petersburg in Russia. Despite the fact it was being restored on a grand scale, they remained undetected there for several months. His father was growing older, more resentful, and still grieving over the loss of his wife. He had also grown a touch senile; believing everyone around him was going to try to kill him.

His son proved him right, taking him for a walk in the lower gardens one evening, then stabbing him in the back with a gilded knife he had swiped from the displays and watched him die slowly as he bled out.

Tom junior felt no remorse then either. He was never loved by his father, only ever a distant and uncaring mentor.

The bedroom lamp that had lit up the screen went black as Narcissa switched off the light and kissed her son goodnight once more. Riddle wiped a tear from his cheek, not realising it had fallen.

_How glorious would it be to receive love like that freely?_ He wondered, _to be treasured and loved and never feared or despised or used._

No, Tom Riddle had never been loved.

0-0-0-0

James and Lily ate their bolognaise off a single platter, the television flashing quietly in the background. They ate in near silence, relishing in the close company of the other, and the need to fill their stomachs after a long day at work. They knew that everything would change in a short while, and both knew, without acknowledging it to the other, that they wanted to spend the moments that could be their last with each other.

James silently considered all the changes to their relationship over the past half a year, they had started out as little more than distant work colleagues, and having spent so long with each other, virtually cut off from their real lives, they had found something in each other, something nameless, but something that drew him to her nonetheless. He never really expected things to go beyond what was given to them in the brief; but Lily shot that whole idea out of the water when she admitted Dumbledore had given her additional information regarding their covers and the continuation of their safety. From there on, they grew together like moss grew on a damp rock.

As Lily snuggled into his side after they finished eating, he thought just how much she meant to him now. Even if she wasn't pregnant with his child, he knew he would willingly give his life to save hers. If they survived this mission, they were going to need to sit down and have a decent chat about what they both wanted, for real, in their real lives. Of course, the pregnancy made things easier for him; it gave him another completely legitimate reason to stay with her on top of all the nameless reasons that drew him to her.

He didn't know how she felt in its entirety, but he was confident that she at least liked him back. He tilted his head to get a better look at her face, obscured in part by her red hair. Her eyes were closed, her ear pressed up against his chest.

'What're you doing?' he asked quietly.

'I'm listening to your heart beat. It was thumping away crazily for a few seconds there, but it's back to normal now.' She relied equally as quiet.

'Why are you listening to my heart?'

'Well firstly, I'm checking to make sure you don't have an arrhythmia or an irregular heartbeat; I'm not letting faulty genetics hurt our child. Secondly, it's a calming sound, it doesn't stop; it's steady and strong and reminds me that you're here with me, even when I'm asleep.'

'No faulty genetics in me, heart, lungs and brain and the rest of me are fine. My heartbeat is comforting to you?'

'Yeah,' she smiled, 'it's nice to know to know you're here with me. I used to listen to my dad's heartbeat when I was little. We'd be sitting down watching the telly after dinner and he'd tuck me under his shoulder and ask me how my day at school was.' She looked down sadly, 'it was always comforting to know that he loved me, even if he wasn't at home often.'

James could tell that she wasn't talking about her 'father' as a part of her cover, but her real father.

'When he died, my mum kind of shut down,' she said sadly, 'she wasn't really there for me, I was eighteen already and I guess I was always a daddy's girl. She died a few months later, and then there was just me. I don't have any siblings or cousins and my grandparents passed away before I was born or when I was really little, so it's been a pretty lonely few years. Having you in my life gives me something to look forward to.'

'Don't forget the baby we're having.' He reminded her.

'That reminds me, we need to start calling it something _other_ than "the baby". It makes him or her sound so detached from us, like it's a completely different entity or something. Can we at least name the baby something?'

'What like "Jellybean" or "Blueberry" in reference to how it looks now?'

'Well, that or we could just use our chosen unisex name until we find out the gender?'

James smirked as Lily sat up, leaning over her lap, 'Hello Baby Elvendork, I'm your dad.'

Lily cracked up laughing putting a hand over her abdomen, 'I know you won't be able to feel it, but Baby Elvendork just did a somersault.'

'He did?'

'Yup!'

'What did it feel like?'

'Almost like a light brush of a feather against the skin, only on the inside.'

'Sounds kind of cool, yet kind of creepy.'

'You have no idea how creepy it was when I first felt it the other morning when I woke you up at like six in the morning; it was bizarre!'

'I can't wait to feel him or her kick. Can we have a football baby?'

'A what baby?'

'A football baby, a child that loves football.'

'Yeah sure, as long as I get to teach them to cook.'

'Done.'

0-0-0-0

**July 10****th****, 1989**

With only twenty-four hours to go until the election officially began, Lily woke early, before the sun even thought of rising beyond the horizon. She peeked over her shoulder to find James still fast asleep, snoring ever so slightly. Her mind wandered until she thought of the phone call they received late the previous night, from Tom Riddle, asking if they would be free in the afternoon to come in for a meeting.

They had acquiesced, but there was a sinking feeling in her gut that sent off warning signals. There was something unusual about the request, as though they had gotten Riddle's plan wrong and there was not just a single misdirection in terms of plans he had organised, but a double feint.

Riddle had played virtually everyone at least once before - the large recruitment groups, the flashy, showy plans for a hostile government takeover was something he had revealed as a false step before, when he had hosted a smaller meeting and told them plainly; right before he killed Charity and Severus.

Lily closed her eyes and tried to snuggle back into the warmth that James provided. There was no use trying to figure out how the mad man thought, it would be like trying to decode binary in an enigma machine.

The next time she opened her eyes, it was light and James was slowly running his hand up and down her side. Exhaling contentedly, she wriggled away from him until she had enough space to roll over and face him. Her nose found the junction of his throat and shook her head into the space so her nose could warm up. He jerked at the coldness, but quickly drew her closer again.

'Your nose is froze.' He commented sleepily.

'At least my toes are warm.' She replied equally as tired.

0-0-0-0

The morning passed slowly, both of them kept looking at the clocks, half wishing three pm would never come around, and the other half wishing it would come to pass sooner.

As Lily made them sandwiches for lunch, James began to notice a gentle but persistent ticking sound. It was odd because the only clock he owned was a digital one on his bedside table, and it didn't tick.

His training subconsciously kicked in, knowing his every action was likely on camera, he surreptitiously checked around the apartment for the source. However it seemed to be emanating from just about every corner and wall.

'Lily there's something weird going on.' He called out.

'What is it?' she called back.

'There's this weird ticking sound and I'm getting a bit freaked out by it.' The noise she had been making with the knife and the cutting board ceased as she tuned into the sound.

'What is that noise?' she shot out, sounding concerned.

'I-I don't know, but my gut is telling me that we need to get, now.'

She was by his side in a moment, 'grab the things you can't live without and let's get out then.' She suggested.

Since most of the things in the apartment were not really his own, he grabbed the few photos and trinkets he had brought with him and they left, leaving their uneaten sandwiches behind and locking the door behind them.

They ran down the two flights of stairs, and virtually the moment James' foot hit ground level the floor shook as an explosion burst out from upstairs.

'That's your unit.' Lily gasped, 'it was a bomb.'

'We need to leave here, now.' He growled, grabbing her arm firmly and dragging her out of the building before the other residents of the apartment block could fill up the path.

'James what about everyone else? What if someone's injured?' she protested.

'It's time to go,' he whispered harshly, 'if we don't get out of here now, we'll be obliterated.'

'It's not just our job to stay undercover,' she hissed back as they reached outside, 'we also have a duty to make sure that as few casualties as possible come out of our actions.'

'Lily, it's a Saturday, the residents that live above me are shopping crazy and left at nine this morning when you were in the shower, the older couple that live on the same level as me have gone to visit family in Cardiff this weekend and pretty much everyone who lives in the floors below me is already coming out behind us. We cannot be caught by the cops; we can't risk being detained for questioning when we need to go to this meeting Riddle called.'

Lily still was resistant to his pulling, so he grabbed her shoulders and physically turned her around, 'look, there's Amos Diggory, his wife Sally and their annoying teenage son Cedric, and over there is Mrs Figg and her psychotic devil cat Prince, then over there is the Crofts, the Finnegan's and the McDougal's. That's everyone that would have been in the external blast vicinity; everyone else would have been exposed to minor scratches and maybe a tad of shock. We need to go. _Now_.'

Finally she accepted the fact they needed to leave, and let him pull her away from the smoking remains of his apartment. She opened her satchel and helped him put his photos and personal items into it.

'Can we see if my place is still standing?' she asked. He nodded and they headed off in the direction of her place, only to find a similar smoking ruin where her third-storey apartment once was.

'What the hell?' she gasped as it came into view, 'my Hairspray video!' she moaned as she remembered her favourite video and how it was still in the VHS player, it had been one of the very few things she had brought with her to the cover apartment and she genuinely mourned its loss.

'I'll buy you a new video of it. Right now, we need to disappear for a bit, I'm not convinced we're not being followed and we don't have any contact with Dumbledore. We're basically just sitting ducks right now, and I don't trust Riddle to not pull something on us.'

'What about Petunia? She's technically your work colleague and we could get her to send a distress signal to Albus.' She suggested.

'I don't want to risk exposing her and her family to Riddle, but she might just be the only option we have right now.'

'Should we go to the cafe and phone her from there? The printing press will be closed today and I don't have the home phone of my boss.' James nodded, his head spinning with how quickly their situation had deteriorated. Neither of them knew exactly was behind the bombing of their apartments, but no matter who was, they were both very nearly killed.

They managed to get a hold of Petunia, who told them to wait there as she called Albus straight away. The few minutes of glancing anxiously out of the shop window became almost unbearable until James suggested raiding the sandwich bar supplies since they never got to eat lunch. They ate quickly, their training instincts keeping them wary and on the look for anything suspicious. The ring of the phone almost gave them both heart attacks, so tense they both were.

It was Albus, reassuring them that he and his team were doing the best they could to figure out what happened at their apartments.

'Initial look makes us think that the C4 was laced throughout the apartment when they installed their cameras and mics.' Dumbledore spoke to them both over the receiver, 'we didn't dare risk doing a full counter-surveillance on their devices when they installed them, just in case they had activated them already. It looks as though they put it in their devices as well as a couple of small strategically placed bricks and trigger packs on non-load-bearing parts of the apartment. You guys were lucky, what got you out in time?'

'I heard a ticking noise at my place, couldn't pinpoint the source and got spooked.' James replied into the speaker, 'we left straight away and it blew up virtually the second we got to ground level.'

'That was very good timing on your part. I assume you didn't stick around to be questioned?'

'Nope, Lily wanted to make sure we got everyone out safe, but sirens were too close.'

'Possibly the best choice for now, I can deal with the Chief of Police later. Have your covers been blown?'

Lily and James looked at each other, 'we don't know,' she said hesitatingly, 'nothing we've said or done in the past week in our apartments would have done it; but truthfully we have absolutely no idea whether or not we're safe.'

'Riddle called a meeting for three this afternoon, should we proceed?'

'Stay where you are at the cafe, you've still got a couple of hours until you need to go anywhere, I'll send Sirius down with some weapons and some new inner ear communication buds. You can't go into this unarmed now that this has happened. If you feel confident enough about your covers, then by all means go in again, if not we'll pull you out and stay on external surveillance.'

'We're going back in.' They replied in unison.

'Okay, if you are prepared to accept the risk, then I cannot stop you. I've just dispatched Sirius, he should there in about twenty minutes, and he'll be in the back room, so keep an ear out.'

'Thanks boss,' James said, 'for everything.'

There was silence on both ends of the phone, 'don't die one me you two, you're the two best junior agents I've ever had.'

Albus' comment made them smile, 'We'll try our best not to boss.' James said.

0-0-0-0

* * *

**Next time:  
**(this sneak peek is longer than my other ones because I didn't want to pull this bit out of context [for once] as I had so much fun writing this scene!)

'Of course I'm a monster,' he spat, 'I was created to be one. However, everyone thinks monsters are stupid beasts, incapable of intelligent and rational thought. I am a new kind of monster, a master of chaos and deception and I can justify everything I have ever done. This is just another one of my masterful, genius plans.'

'If you can rationalise everything, then why did you bomb our apartments?'

'Because these people didn't _have_ a continuous reason to follow me, I needed to give them a martyr or two who lived like them, believed in the same things they did and died a death that was so tragic and awful and unbearable, that they couldn't help but rally behind the one person that the two of you had rallied behind and died for. Only you both buggered it up by surviving and walking in when I needed you to have carted away on a gurney to the morgue.'

* * *

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	15. Going To Take You Out

**Deliverance. Disorder. Descent.**

Author note – I'm getting there with assignments, slowly. One ethics essay in, onto the next! sorry its been a while- real life (and tumblr) takes up my time a fair bit... BUT here is chapter 15, the penultimate chapter enjoy! and _**REVIEW!**_

_for my friend who is no longer the Lily to my Grace because BCDaily's Commentarius ruined that analogy._

* * *

Lily and James sat in the front of the cafe, sipping on tea he made as they discussed their next move. They couldn't risk pulling out without knowing why Riddle had targeted them. Going to the meeting posed another problem – if Riddle had targeted them, and wanted them dead, what would stop him from taking a closer shot were they to show up? They ran counter-surveillance and concluded that no one had followed them and that they weren't being tailed, leading them to the conclusion that Tom had thought them dead.

James pulled her towards him and tucked her into his side to keep her warm. She in turn circled her arms about his waist and pulled him closer.

'Not going to lie, I'm a bit scared.' She whispered.

'Same,' he whispered in reply, 'I feel kind of like we're about to enter a den of angry lions and the lion king is hungry for fresh meat.'

Lily snorted, 'I doubt that he's going to eat us.'

'I truthfully wouldn't put it past him.'

0-0-0-0

They hid their weapons underneath their tops, tucked into the top of their pants. Their ear buds were installed, giving them direct access to Dumbledore and a small handful of other agents specifically trained in hostage negotiation, psychology and bomb disposal. James decided not to bring up the fact that Robert Finnegan was there to guide them if they came across any gigantic activated bombs and instead just be grateful for his expertise. They were also informed that a team of Phoenix agents would be nearby, ready to take Riddle himself down if he made any admissions. With the time nearing three PM, they decided to head on over to the DE meeting, hoping and praying to a deity above to keep them alive.

They locked up the cafe and headed south, towards the nondescript building that could very easily be the last place in the world where they would be alive. They walked hand in hand, neither of them speaking; both too busy keeping their eyes peeled for tails. By the time they arrived at the old office block, the other members of the DE were already inside the meeting room. Glancing at each other, the headed on in, ready to face whatever they would find head-on.

Surprisingly no guns were pointed at them when they entered the room, the smaller group of people assembled glanced their way and Tom Riddle stopped talking entirely. Riddle had a look of shock on his face that he quickly masked over, calling over to them in concern.

'You two aren't normally late, what kept you guys?'

Lily and James paused to look at each other, worry filling their features, James spoke up for them both, 'the government tried to kill us.' He lied, taking the advice from the voice coming from the earpiece.

Gasps came from everyone and Lily corroborated, allowing her eyes to tear up as she too followed the suggestions given to her via the earpiece. 'Our apartments got blown up this morning, we left James' place for lunch and the second we left the building his floor practically blew up to smithereens, we didn't know what was going on.' Lily let the tears fall, 'we snuck over to my place to find it blown up as well. We overheard one of the police officers cordoning off the area near my place say that it was blown up using military-grade explosives. We've been hiding out for the past couple of hours until we could come here.'

Muttering and shouts broke out as everyone in the room began spewing out anti-government sentiments. James let go of Lily's hand, instead pulling her close against his side and keeping one hand firm on her waist.

The muttering continued, even when they had both sunk into the two free seats close to the door. Lily was seated next to Narcissa, who put her hand on Lily's arm in comfort, staying composed amid the grumbling going on about the room. James handed her his clean handkerchief to wipe her eyes and grabbed her free hand again. Tom Riddle had regained his composure, clearly relieved to not have been implicated in the bombings.

'I am glad to find you both alive,' he began slowly, 'with the election so close at hand; it is a dangerous time to be opposing our government even if it is the right thing to do. Do you know why you were perhaps targeted?' he asked.

'We don't know,' James muttered, shaking his head, 'all we know is that we left my flat less than two minutes before it blew up and we suspect that the government did it, either them, or someone who has access to explosives that powerful.'

Tom nodded thoughtfully, and both Lily and James knew he was trying to turn the situation favourable to him. The voices in their ears suggested as they left the cafe that they continue the general anti-government incentive, allow the members of the DE with extreme views to be discovered, and the ones who were not quite as staunch as the others to be dismissed.

He sat at his seat at the head of the table, waiting patiently for the conversations to peter out. Lily kept glancing about the faces, flicking back and forth, surreptitiously keeping Riddle in her line of sight at all times. He was impassive, still looking thoughtful, still silent and observing the occupants of the room. The noise level died down after a few more moments, and returned their attention to the head of the table, where Tom was shuffling a handful of papers and simultaneously jotting down notes in a small notepad he always kept on his person.

0-0-0-0

Tom was seething on the inside. He had a plan perfectly set out to garner empathy and support from the occupants in the room, and the two people who needed to die _somehow_ survived. Because of the way the surveillance bugs/bombs worked the cameras and mics had gone offline five minutes before they were due to explode – leaving him with five minutes of time in which they were blind to whatever had gone on in James' apartment. The last visions that came from the camera were Lily and James standing up and heading towards the kitchen to prepare lunch.

It would have made for a perfect scene of horror; a young couple, clearly in love, innocently making lunch on their weekend off and being blown to smithereens by unknown entities.

It was foolproof, idiot-proof and was going so well, until they walked into the room. For a few moments he thought his plan had come crashing down about him, until they spoke up and blamed their government. It gave him hope, hope that he thought had been lost when they entered the building. The ensuing gasps made him realise that the couple could be worth more to him alive than dead. The tears falling from Lily's eyes and James' shell-shocked behaviour reminded him that these recruits were still ordinary humans, utterly blind to the behaviour of the political game or war. A game in which numbers truly meant strength, and those with the bigger guns usually won and the civilian casualties didn't really matter, as they merely became martyrs for the cause.

Perhaps he had underestimated Lily and James in the sense that they were better off as being a true part of his cause, and not the first of an expected large amount of civilian martyrs.

He still had doubts of their worth though, despite them both being consistent in their appearances at meetings, they didn't really offer much in the way of showy support. Unlike the Malfoy couple, neither Lily nor James rubbed shoulders with the rich and influential; unlike the Lestrange couple they didn't have an entire clan of anti-government hippy friends and unlike the others, they held low-income, working-class jobs and didn't really have any redeeming features other than being civilians.

Despite the odds he had stacked against them, they had survived. He was never a believer in fate or luck, but he was fully prepared to believe in it now. In truth, when he had scribbled down a note beforehand about putting both Lily and James into his final stage, he originally decided against it, preferring to sacrifice them and gain attention and admiration for his cause. Their survival, however made him rethink about that jotted down note, wondering how he could have overlooked such a power couple.

As the noise began to die down about the room, he flipped through some of his old notes, scrawling mindlessly in his notebook. Altering his plan infinitesimally so Lily and James were included, he looked back up at the quietened room.

Clearing his voice, he spoke.

'I know just how concerned you all must be,' he began quietly, 'the possibility of losing your homes, your families and your lives because of your affiliation with my movement just strengthens my resolve to create a country that is _safer_ for everyone. Our politicians have gone on unchecked for too long, they keep secrets, they order assassinations quietly, and they move massive amounts of taxpayers' money about to suit their needs. I've talked before about a government takeover, stooping to their level to get what we need – but I've decided to do something greater, something more magnificent, something _better_ then the Conservatives and Labour; a more honest approach in which I will be open, and forthright with what I want to see our country become.'

His inspiring speech had roused the group. They were sitting up, attentive to his every word. Even the couple that he tried to have killed that morning where watching him.

'Tomorrow, when the election begins there will be a huge protestation rally outside of Westminster Palace, we will be there. We will demand change; we will demand our leaders be accountable for their actions and we will fight against this reign of tyranny. I have organised for people to hand out pamphlets detailing our government's crimes, the posters are made, the banners are ready to fly, and I am ready to _fight_ for our country.

For too long my desire to reveal the truth of England's government been suppressed. First my family and I were exiled, then they sent their Phoenix agents to kill off my family and I, almost succeeding in their mission. I alone survived their deceptions and returned to hold the bastards accountable.'

Most people in the room nodded, but the few couples, minus the two Lestrange's stayed still. The Malfoy's looked straight at him, unblinking and unsmiling, Lily and James too did not even move.

0-0-0-0

Tom's speech disturbed them both, Lily swallowed noticeably as she took in the movement around her; these people thought he was a _victim_. Did they not remember how he shot an innocent woman, or caused the long, painful death of an innocent man. How could these people believe him, even after all that they had seen?

She noticed that the older couple next to her had not nodded with the rest; instead they stood stock still, their expressions as equally as concerned as her own. It was a slight comfort to her that not all of these people had been so easily hoodwinked by Riddle.

Lily did not even try to justify the thinking of these people; even if they may have thought that Riddle had killed government agents who threatened to expose them. How did that lessen the crucial part where he killed two people in front of them? It could, and should have been Lily and James who were the ones killed, not an elementary school teacher and a civilian who was really just repaying Dumbledore for proving him innocent.

As she glanced around, she noticed that it wasn't just Lucius and Narcissa who hadn't responded positively to Tom's rousing speech. Aside from the hippy couple, who were obviously still high from whatever substance they had smoked before the meeting, several people about the room looked confused at the change of direction that Riddle was going in. Exchanging furtive glances with James who had leant back during Riddle's monologue, she wriggled ever so slightly in her seat so she was closer to him. Her hand was itching to go for her gun, but she resisted and took James' hand instead. They both knew that if they had any hope of Phoenix catching Riddle out now, he had to admit what he was really planning on doing.

The voice in their earpieces informed them that one of Riddle's henchmen was talking; he had been taken in the previous evening for questioning, and after some persuasive methods were used to get him to talk. Apparently the henchman, named Doyle Crabb was one of the original Riddle underlings. Most of their employees had abandoned the family after they were forced out of the country, but a few loyal ones remained, mostly because Tom Riddle junior knew their families and would not hesitate to use those family members as collateral.

A bomb had been hidden under Westminster Palace, it was scheduled to go off a midday, when the parliamentary members would be sequestered inside the building so there was no way they could influence the public as they entered the polling booths. The device was unlike every other bomb, instead of being packed with C4 or other incendiary materials; it was entirely electronic - with a blast radius of the entire inner London city. According to the voice speaking in Lily and James' ears, the bomb had been diagnosed by a Phoenix technician as an electromagnetic pulse device, one that was non-nuclear, but more powerful than one ever seen before.

All that was left to do before an entire squad of Phoenix and military personnel could come crashing into the room was to make Tom Riddle Junior confess that the bomb was his. However Lily and James could not speak up, Riddle's speech had pulled a one-eighty on what they thought he would talk about. Instead of crowing about his soon-to-be success, he had made his speech seem like he was a victim in all this, rather than the perpetrator.

0-0-0-0

An awkward silence came over the room and for the first time since he started his comeback, he had doubts that these people were as behind him as he wanted. These were the close few he had planned to have beside him as his supporters, he planned to have these people spread their support, like a communicable disease, infecting everyone they came near.

Although Lily and James survived, they had managed to save the day for him – he doubted they were aware of it, but they had blown half his plans out of the water before breathing a bit of life back into it. Blaming the government for the loss of their houses was a genius move, one even he didn't count on, even if their death would have firmly cemented the support of everyone in the room.

Deciding that the silence had gone on long enough, he spoke,

'Truthfully, I have to admit I've been quite disappointed.' He began, 'disappointed in our nation as a whole. For so long we, the hardworking industrious people of England have been forced to bend the knee to upper-class Tories who spend all day huffing their cigars whilst manoeuvring the people about so that they get rich off of our hard work. Not for any longer I say! Come tomorrow at noon, chaos will erupt in our great city of London, and out of that chaos a new order will arise.'

He paused, letting his gaze roam over the faces in front of him, deciding to come clean in a last bid attempt to make them stand behind him

'Deep in the plumbing tunnels underneath the city is a device my good colleagues have placed. At noon tomorrow it will unleash a torrent of electricity that will cause the chaos that will lead to my design of order. It will shut down the new electric voting booths used throughout the city; it will shut down cameras, videos, televisions, trains, radio and even phones. Then in the confusion, my design will be made clear, for you will all have power to help take our nation towards the better, brighter future.'

0-0-0-0

James' eyebrows rose infinitesimally as Riddle continued to spew out his completely mad idea. He had no idea he had just backed himself into a corner in which he was about to be completely surrounded. As the ear pieces picked up everything they heard, Phoenix, the police and the military now had sufficient grounds in which to arrest Riddle and everyone at the meeting for terrorist and treasonable activities. Riddle continued his monologue, but James let his eyes flick towards all the exits, getting ready for the onslaught that was surely about to come.

'_Get ready,'_ came Dumbledore's voice in his ear, '_we're about to breach.'_

James took a deep breath and let it out slowly, still tightly gripping Lily's hand.

A blast tore the room apart. Screams ran out from several people seated. The doors at both ends of the room were ripped off their hinges as the room was breached. With complete efficacy Phoenix agents and military personnel entered the room. Their demands were simple, everyone remain seated and put their hands on the table. Lily and James complied too, even though the Phoenix agents recognised them – just in case it wasn't safe to break their covers. Tom Riddle sat down and complied with the orders being shouted at him. He looked completely demented, as though he wasn't quite sure what was happening.

0-0-0-0

About an hour later, Dumbledore came into the nearly emptied room. Riddle was secured in the back of a Phoenix truck, ready to be transported to a Phoenix stronghold. All that remained was for Lily and James to either vouch for or incriminate the last few remaining DE members.

They had vouched for Lucius and Narcissa, knowing that whilst they may have slight anti-government leanings, they were good people, and had a son to protect. Before leaving, Narcissa took Lily aside and thanked her for it, admitting that Tom had been blackmailing her husband and their friends to get monetary support; it had hung over her like a black cloud for weeks with no way of getting help. The Lestrange couple however were arrested for terrorist activities as well as drug possession. Their bags contained nearly a kilo of marijuana, and they had tested positive.

Dumbledore surveyed the room, watching as James made his way to Lily and pull her into a hug. Albus had just finished trying to interrogate Tom, but he had gone completely crazy, demanding to be released.

He motioned for both Lily and James to join him, he hoped that the revealing of his two agents to Riddle may just get him to open up. They entered the van, parked close to the entrance of the building. Tom was manacled and bound to the van itself, with only his head able to move.

He snarled cruelly as Lily and James came into view, now bedecked in Phoenix gun vests.

'I should have known it was you two.' He spat, 'that little love story of yours is going to end as tragic as a Shakespeare story.'

Dumbledore stood back and let his agents handle Tom, knowing they had it covered.

'Real pity about your bomb though Tom,' said James conversationally,' we disabled it and have transported it away for detonation.'

Riddle sneered through the bars of the cage he was in, 'I'll get my revenge.'

'You're a complete, psychopathic, self-righteous monster aren't you?' said Lily disbelievingly, shaking her head and looking at him in pity.

'Of course I'm a monster,' he spat, 'I was created to be one. However, everyone thinks monsters are stupid beasts, incapable of intelligent and rational thought. I am a new kind of monster, a master of chaos and deception and I can justify everything I have ever done. This is just another one of my masterful, genius plans.'

'If you can rationalise everything, then why did you bomb our apartments?'

'Because these people didn't _have_ a continuous reason to follow me, I needed to give them a martyr or two who lived like them, believed in the same things they did and died a death that was so tragic and awful and unbearable, that they couldn't help but rally behind the one person that the two of you had rallied behind and died for. Only you both buggered it up by surviving and walking in when I needed you to have carted away on a gurney to the morgue.' Tom argued, his head raging from side to side.

Dumbledore decided to speak up, 'the only reason your plan buggered up so magnificently Tom, is because you completely underestimate people. That's your weakness, and because of it, I'm going to bury you so deep, you'll never dig yourself out.

0-0-0-0

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**Next time:**

'So, what next?'


	16. Gone

**Deliverance. Disorder. Descent.**

Author note – Iis done! after the past few weeks this story has finally come to life (and is out of my head!) and i would LOVE for you to leave a review (no matter how short) if you've read it - I thrive on feedback and just because it's the end (and hey maybe by the time you read this, it's been around for a while) i would STILL appreciate your thoughts (both the positive and negative) - i always feel good when my phone beeps with an email from ... :)

Enjoy!

_for my best friend in the universe.  
_

* * *

**August**

Life returned to a somewhat sense of normality in the weeks that followed. Riddle was in a top-security holding, his assets frozen and his wide network of employees were being arrested one-by-one. Lily and James were cleared to break cover in its entirety and they were able to head to their real homes and sleep in their own beds.

It was only one small thing, but Lily mourned the loss of her video of Hairspray. As wave after wave of morning sickness either confined her to her house, or at best, desk work, she missed the days where she could come home from a bad day at work, bake muffins and sing loudly and jam along with Tracy Turnblad and the Corny Collins' show. Of late, she came home from work, baked muffins and hummed tunelessly the songs from the film.

James was always there; ready to help with the cleaning up, the taste testing, and always on hand to cuddle up to on the ever-increasing chilly nights. They were both of them alone in the world, with only each other to turn to. Their colleagues left them to themselves, knowing it took a while to get used to real life after being in deep cover. They spent whole days chasing up paperwork, sitting close together, never straying too far from the other. One of the problems of being in deep cover – you get so attached and dependent on your partner that being away from them afterwards takes effort.

One evening, as they watched the nightly news on the television, they snuggled into each other on James' couch. They were glad to finally be away for the weekend, away from the endless paperwork, away from the aftermath of the election, away from being constantly watched or needing to watch over someone. Lily stomach was starting to expand, they had talked about moving in together seriously, but it had gotten past that stage.

James kept his mother's engagement ring in his pocket, ready and waiting for the opportune moment to place it on Lily's finger – providing she accepted.

0-0-0-0

**October**

As winter drew closer, and Lily's stomach grew larger, they had both accepted the fact that they would need to move in together before their baby boy was born. As James' parents left him their family home out of the city in Godric's Hollow, near Bath, they decided to make the move.

Dumbledore had his two junior agents transferred to the Bath office, allowing them to focus on protecting the politicians living and working in the South West and the West Midland regions. With the election hype over, their jobs would likely return to the boring day to day body guarding duties and following up on threatening letters sent to the various offices of parliamentary members. Life returned to a sense of normal.

Tom Riddle was still unyielding when it came to interrogations and questioning, each new round bringing nothing but rising frustrating for those trying to get information from him.

On a chilly Halloween afternoon, a week after Lily and James finished moving in to Godric's Hollow, their phone rang. Dumbledore had called them urgently to inform them that Riddle had been broken out of his prison cell. Despite being out of contact with the wider world for nearly five months, his wide net of influence had obviously created a pathway for him to escape. Albus had a set of contingency plans in place, and needed them both to keep out of the public eye for a few weeks, either until Riddle was sighted well away from their area, or was recaptured. They were at a heightened risk due to their previous dealings with him, and Dumbledore didn't want to risk losing them.

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**November**

After spending a fortnight, going stir-crazy from being stuck virtually in their new home, Lily and James decided they needed a day out. James carried the ring in his pocket, almost an afterthought, but something made him pull it out of the pair of pants he had worn the previous day and put it in the pocket of the pants he was wearing.

As Lily waddled ahead of him towards the front door, coat on and winding a scarf about her neck, he grinned at the silhouette she made as she walked down the unlit hallway. Today was the day, he could feel it.

Dumbledore had called that morning to say that Riddle had been sighted up in Scotland, on the trail of a dissenting former employee that had been a leading reason in the Riddle family being ousted from the country all those years ago.

As they exited the house, heading towards the centre of the town, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds above, making Lily's hair light up and the red in her hair shine.

All in all, it was a new day; a good day to be alive.

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_Epilogue_

James and Lily were married a week before Christmas day, 1989, in the little parish of Godric's Hollow, their son; Harry James Potter was born a month later. With a mop of black hair like his father's and the eyes of his mother, he kept the two of them awake for many nights as he grew into a healthy and robust child.

Even though the threat of Tom Riddle hung over them for many a year, the three of them lived their own happily ever after.

-The end-

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